One Hitinspired by an old Rolling Stones song
by Lizziekat15
Summary: Another variation of Daryl Dixon finding a love interest...not Beth unfortunately...seeing that poor man so lonely on that show is frustrating and haunting...and I insist on everyone having a happy ending, even Merle.
1. Chapter 1

One Hit-Rolling Stones

Oh, your love is just sweet addiction,

I can't clean you out of my veins.

It's a life long affliction,

That has damaged my brain.

It took just

One hit to the body,

To tear my defenses apart. ….

Rick wakes up in the hospital to see a pretty woman curled up on a chair asleep in his room. He looks around in confusion. How long has he been out? How long has he been here? Something doesn't seem right.

As he shifts in the bed, her eyes open and she starts at seeing him awake. "Oh, thank God you're awake," she murmurs as she stands and walks over to the bed. She quickly takes his pulse and lays her hand on his forehead to check for fever. She's dressed in scrubs, her auburn hair pulled up in a messy pile on her head.

"Who are you," he asked her, his throat sore and raspy and dry. She holds a Styrofoam cup with a straw in it to him so he can take a drink.

"I'm Dr. Hussein. I was on your surgical team. You were shot in the upper chest and you were brought in unconscious. We got the bullet out and repaired the wound. You've been here recuperating," she explained.

Rick nodded. "I don't remember. The last thing I remember is going to answer a call with one of my deputies."

She nodded again. "That's not unusual. Trauma and the shock from the blood loss can do that to a person." She looked around the room and back at him and frowned.

"What? Where is everyone? Why is it so quiet?" he was struggling to sit up a bit more, and she leaned over and helped him maneuver to sit up more.

"Well I don't know how to say this without just blurting it out," she paused, and licked her lips. "Apparently there has been some kind of biological incident."

Rick interrupted her, frowning. "What? What do you mean?"

She held a hand up to shush him. "I'm not sure what exactly happened myself. I just know you came in, we operated on you and while I was on rounds that night the news started talking about some pandemic-whole cities all over the world were being infected. By the end of the first week, huge areas of the country were decimated." She paused to let him absorb what she'd told him.

"The first week? How long have I been in here?" He looked around restlessly.

"We're going into the third week now," she replied, watching him carefully.

"I've been in here three weeks?!" he yelped.

She nodded. "Yes, I made sure I brought up enough IVs and meds and that stuff and then barricaded us in the room here. People were going crazy, just looting and killing anyone that got in their way of getting out of town. The roads around town are filled with stalled cars, businesses have been looted and burnt. It's a mess."

"Well, what is the virus? A cold? The flu?" He was worried about Laurie and Carl. Where were they? Why weren't they here with him?

"No one would say anything. Just that some virus had been released and was infecting people worldwide. Nobody took the credit or the blame for releasing the virus. But apparently all of us are infected."

Rick frowned. "Then why aren't we dead?"

"Because nothing happens unless you die. Some folks did die from the virus, but they…."she struggled to find the right words. "They come back alive and attack the living. And when they attack the living they die and come back alive too."

Rick shook his head in disbelief. "This is just crazy. This is bullshit. How do I know you're not some lunatic that's making this all up?" He struggled to swing his legs down to sit up.

"Yeah it's fucking crazy. Like all those damn horror movies and comics and tv shows and books. Only unfortunately all those people writing that shit were onto the right idea when they thought that stuff up. And as bad as all those stories were, the reality is far worse." She helped him to stand and kept a hand on his arm as he was wobbly. She let him just stand there a minute so he could absorb all of this.

"So, what is going on everywhere then?" he asked quietly.

"Well, the tv and radio and internet is all down. They went out last week, and before it all went dark the news showed DC was decimated, so was New York, Chicago, LA. All the largest cities all over the world are pretty much gone-the buildings have been razed and burnt by military or mobs. People have been trying to get out of the bigger cities and head toward more isolated areas. The analysts advised people to head to the mountains-Appalachian, Rockies-any mountainous area would be safer. Also, colder climates because they think come the winter the cold might slow the virus down. They don't know how it'll affect the ….. well, for lack of a better word, the zombies."

Rick nodded, deep in thought. "Well, why did you stay here with me? Why haven't you run off to the mountains or something?" he asked.

She smiled sadly. "I had nowhere to go. My family is all up in Michigan and my husband was doing a residency up in New York and –well, I was planning on going to a lawyer that week and filing for divorce," she laughed bitterly. "So I figured I might as well make myself useful and make sure my patient was taken care of-I was on your surgery team. I wasn't about to let you lie in here alone and die after we'd saved you once."

Rick gave a little laugh at that. "Has my family been here?"

She nodded. "Yes, they were here the first week. But when things started to get crazy out there, some guy came in –I guess he was your partner?-and told me that he was taking your family to safety, that he didn't expect you to make it and he was going to tell your family the same thing." Rick clenched his fists in sudden anger. "Yeah, he was pretty much a jerk. I tried to argue with him, but he just told me his mind was made up and stomped out of here. That's when I went down to the pharmacy and packed a duffel bag full of medical supplies and scrubs and stuff. I figured when you woke up we could go out and see the lay of the land."

Rick grunted. His head hurt and he felt like hell, but after what she had told him he was damned if he was going to lay here one day longer while that two faced bastard Shane took his family further and further away from him.

"Okay, help me get dressed and we'll get out of here," he said. She nodded and together they got him dressed in the clothes Lori had left for him, a spare uniform. He walked around the room trying to stretch his legs and lessen the shakiness in them. After a few minutes he looked over at her. "Say, what is your name anyway? If we're going to be travelling together I've gotta call you something besides Dr. Hussein," he said looking at her.

"Isabeau. My mother named me after some character in a movie she liked," she shrugged in embarrassment.

Rick smiled. "Guess you already know my name is Rick," he said. She nodded and smiled. "Okay then, guess we better head out and see what's going on out there." They each took a duffel bag and started toward the door. "Hey, wait. You need a weapon," he said.

Isabeau patted her side. "I've got a Beretta strapped to my waist. Under my shirt," she added.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rick and Isabeau meet Glen and Merle and two others in Atlanta and when they handcuff Merle to the pipe, Isabeau argues with them and then stays behind and gets the handcuff off him and they head out right behind Rick and co. Merle and Isabeau show up at the quarry just behind Rick, etc. When Isabeau sees Shane and Laurie and Carl, she pulls Rick to the side and whispers to him that Shane is definitely the man she argued with in the hospital. Shane stares at her, knowing he's seen her but can't place where. Rick advises Isabeau to not say anything to Shane or anyone else. He wants to evaluate what the situation is. Isabeau agrees but warns Rick not to trust Shane.

Isabeau goes down to the water in the quarry and strips off her scrubs and goes into the water, swimming out to the deepest part. The other women follow her and start to clean themselves up and clean some of their clothing. Rick and the men keep watch on the upper ledge of the quarry. Merle takes Daryl to the side and nods toward Isabeau out in the water. "That gal there knows her shit, baby brother," he whispers. "If she hadn't helped me out, I'd probably be dead." Daryl nods and looks out in the water thoughtfully. "Ya know how I feel about most folks, specially women-but she's one tough little cookie. She's got my respect-for now anyway." He clapped Daryl on the shoulder and headed down toward the water. Daryl watched his brother in surprise-that girl had definitely made an impression on his brother.

Isabeau stayed in the water quite a while, turning somersaults and splashing around playfully. When she swam back toward shore, she stepped out and sat on a rock to dry off. She wore just a bra and girl boxer briefs, red. She seemed completely unaware or unconcerned about the glares from the other women and the gawping by the men. She was curvy, with short shapely legs. She stood about 5'2-shorter than everyone else in the group with the exception of Carl and Sophia.

Merle walked over to her, a smirk on his face. "Well, looks like you've got an audience now," he rasped. Isabeau looked over at him, her eyebrow raised and shrugged.

"I have more on now than I do when I'm in my bathing suit," she said, "and besides that, I don't think it really matters anymore what we do or don't wear. If we're going to be getting walker guts and blood all over us daily, there's no room for worrying about whether or not we're dressed properly. I've never been one for false modesty anyway." She shrugged and ran her fingers through her wet hair, trying to detangle it.

"You are definitely something else, princess," Merle said approvingly. Isabeau frowned and shook her head at him.

"Oh, no-I'm the farthest thing from a princess you will find," she told him. "I grew up with no mom and four older brothers on a farm in upper Michigan. My brothers made sure I could take care of myself, I didn't get any pampering from any of them. Which I guess in the long run makes me able to take care of myself now." She continued to run her fingers through her hair, unconcerned with Merle staring at her.

"Can you shoot?" he asked, staring at her thoughtfully.

She snorted in derision. "Of course. I went hunting and trapping with my brothers and they made sure I knew my stuff. They also showed me how to fight-and they weren't careful about it either. I had my ribs broken and my eyes blacked a couple of times." She shrugged as if to indicate this was all no big deal, nothing out of the ordinary.

Merle nodded again, and lit a cigarette. "Good to know. More people that can take care of themselves, the better off we all are. Most of these folks in this group have no clue." He shook his head in disgust. Just then Daryl walked up slowly, uncertain that he should interrupt. He glanced quickly, shyly at Isabeau and blushed a deep red at her lack of covering. Isabeau in turn gave him a long, measuring look. She associated Merle and Daryl with men that she had met back in Michigan-the militia groups who had lived off the land and occasionally came to her father's clinic when they couldn't take care of a wound themselves –her father also gave them medical supplies knowing that some of their people wouldn't come to the clinic no matter how bad off they were. Her father had taught her not to be afraid of these men, and sometimes women, who came into the clinic. He explained they were just living a different way from her and they should be shown respect. She had also treated folks like Merle and Daryl at the hospital in Atlanta and noted how the staff and physicians had treated them –like trash, undeserving of any respect or concern. It had infuriated her-she felt that was one of the reasons Rick etc had handcuffed Merle to the pipe on the roof-they regarded him as beneath them and not worth the trouble. Isabeau felt that the world was going to be awful enough without dragging along all the old prejudices and fears along with them. Privately she thought Merle and Daryl were better equipped than most people were for this type of world. And she intended on watching them and learning from them so she would be able to survive.

"Hey," she said softly to Daryl. She had picked up already that he was uncomfortable around these people and that he seemed more unsure of himself than his brother Merle. He looked quite a bit younger than Merle-so he was probably used to following Merle around and following Merle's lead.

Daryl looked at her uncertainly. He noted she was still trying to comb out the tangles in her long auburn curls, and that her lack of clothing seemed to be of no concern to her. She seemed to be perfectly relaxed, like this was just another day at the beach. He nodded at her, unable to tear his eyes away from her and embarrassed as hell at his staring. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, not that he'd seen all that many. And certainly not in these circumstances.

"You're Merle's brother, right?" she asked, trying to make him comfortable with her. Merle glanced at his brother and smirked. His brother looked like a deer in the headlights. He didn't blame Daryl though, Isabeau was a beautiful woman-definitely far above the class they were used to associating with.

Daryl nodded again and cleared his throat to say something, but Merle cut him off. Merle swung his arm around Daryl's shoulders and said teasingly, "Yep, this here's my baby brother. Been following me around like a puppy dog these last few years, keeping me out of trouble most of the time. " Daryl tried to pull away, embarrassed, but Merle only hugged him tighter. "He's a good guy, even if he is my baby brother." Merle laughed and gave Daryl a little pat on the arm. "I'm gonna head back up and see what the menfolks are running their mouths about," he said as he turned to walk away. He hoped Daryl would find his tongue and be able to say something to Isabeau. A girl like that would have been forever out of their reach but now that the world had gone to shit, everyone had a fair chance at anything. There were no rules anymore, he just hoped Daryl would realize that and take advantage of it.

Daryl turned to follow Merle, but Isabeau stopped him, "Hey, don't run off yet." He turned back to her, frowning. She smiled openly at him and he found himself wondering why she was fucking with him. He didn't like anyone teasing him or making fun of him.

"What?" he growled back at her. She watched him carefully. She didn't want to make him mad, she would have to be careful how she spoke to him so he would know she was not a threat to him.

"Nothing. Didn't mean to offend. Just wanted to talk to someone." She smiled again at him. He noted her eyes were a beautiful deep green, with auburn lashes and eyebrows and little freckles were sprinkled over her nose and cheeks. He felt himself turning a deeper red, knowing she was aware he was staring. In the past if he had been caught staring at some girl he would get a look of disgust or revulsion thrown his way or get threatened if he didn't go away. But this girl was still smiling, being friendly. It was confusing. He looked down at his boots and scuffed one of them in the rocks. "Can you swim?" she asked. He looked up at her quickly.

"Mmmm, yeah. Nothing fancy, just keeping my head up outta the water," he mumbled.

"Well, do you want to get in the water with me? I just want to get back in real quick," she explained.

Daryl thought he would choke at this. She was asking him to swim with her? He shook his head quickly –that would involve him taking his shirt off and he didn't do that in front of anyone. "Um, no. I mean thanks, but I'll pass." He shrugged and headed quickly back toward Merle before she could say another word to him. She watched him leave, biting her lip in thought. He was a good looking man, even under all the dirt and grime they all had on them. She would have to be careful in getting him to trust her-but she would work on it. What else did she have to occupy her now other than staying alive from one day to the next?

Isabeau slid off the rock and rifled in her backpack for a change of clothes. She pulled on a green tank top and some cargo shorts, and pulled her tennis shoes back on. She stuffed her filthy scrubs in a wedge in the rocks. She wasn't going to bother cleaning them-she didn't ever want to look at them again. She grabbed her bag and headed up to the ledge to see what the men were discussing. Most of the women were still at the water's edge splashing the water gratefully onto them and filling water bottles and canteens. They watched Isabeau in silence.

On the ledge, Isabeau headed over to where Rick and Shane and the others were standing around talking. She stood quietly, absorbing what they were discussing. Some thought the group should stay here in the quarry, others thought they should head to someplace safer. Rick thought they should go to the CDC and see if they could get any info from there. He spied Isabeau on the edge of the group and waved her over.

"Isabeau was my doctor in the hospital, a member of my surgical team," he began. Shane started and looked more closely at Isabeau. Isabeau stared back at him, a measuring look on her face. This wasn't lost on Merle, and he nudged Daryl to look.

"Shortstack there don't seem to like Shane," he whispered. Daryl nodded and turned his gaze toward them. "We need to keep an eye on Shane, baby brother. I've already had a bad feeling about him, and seeing her look at him like that just makes me not like him even more." Daryl nodded in agreement.

Rick turned to Isabeau. "What do you think about heading toward the CDC?" he began.

Shane interrupted belligerently. "Why are you asking her? Just because she was your doctor doesn't mean she'd know anything about the CDC." He huffed out. Isabeau just stared at him until he dropped his eyes and looked away. Merle whistled softly and Daryl looked at him.

"She backed him down," Merle whispered softly. Daryl turned back to watch Shane again.

"Shane, she's a doctor. Of course she'd know something about what goes on in the CDC," snorted Dale in derision. The others nodded in agreement.

"I think we should just go to Ft. Benning and get supplies if they haven't been cleaned out," Shane continued stubbornly, his gaze still avoiding Isabeau's. The others looked at him questioningly.

"Why are you so determined to go to Ft. Benning? You know somebody there," Merle stepped forward and glanced at Shane and Rick and then Isabeau. "We should know what this shit is that's causing this mess. A doctor would be the best person to listen to, and she'll understand what anyone at that place says." He glanced around the group to see how they'd respond. The others nodded in agreement.

"It's decided then," Rick began. "We'll stay here a few days to rest up and then we'll head toward the CDC and hopefully we'll find something out." He leaned over and whispered in Isabeau's ear. "Is that okay with you?" She nodded and Rick patted her arm. "I guess we need to start up a fire and set up watch schedules," he said to the group at large. The women straggled up at this time and Rick went to Laurie and Carl and wrapped his arms around them. Isabeau watched Shane glare in Rick's direction, then she looked over and saw Merle watching her. He nodded toward Shane and winked at her, then turned to head back over to Daryl where they started to gather wood for a fire. Isabeau sighed. At least she knew now that someone besides her was cautious of Shane.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three days later, the walkers began to overrun their camp. Luckily they had planned on leaving that day, so they had their belongings packed up and ready to go. They made their way cautiously down to the main road and began to search the vehicles stopped on the road for a few that would run, have gas in it and would take them to the CDC far quicker than walking would do. They found a couple of trucks and an SUV-Rick, Laurie, Carl and Shane were in one. Dale and Andrea and Amy were in his RV, Carol and Sophia and Ed were in their truck. TDog and Jim and Glen were in another truck. Merle rode in the lead on his bike and Daryl and Isabeau brought up the rear in an old truck. Merle had insisted that Isabeau ride with Daryl –needling Daryl until he nearly exploded in frustration. Isabeau sat on her side of the truck silently, feeling guilty that she was the cause of his bad mood. She realized Merle had done this to keep her with them in case of separation from the others-he had spent quite a while talking to her the last few days, questioning her about her medical skills, her hunting skills, her thoughts regarding where would be a safe place to hunker down and set up before winter set in. He had sought her opinion about what exactly the virus was and how long all this would go on. Daryl had sat or stood and listened silently, absorbing their talk. He had not once offered an opinion or question of his own. Isabeau had made a point of including him in any discussion, but she could see he was still uncomfortable around her and the others.

They drove in silence toward the CDC, Daryl nervously biting at his nails and thumb and frequently stealing glances her way. Isabeau kept her head turned to the window, noting the devastation and ruin they passed in silence. She was worried that they would find no one at the CDC, or worse yet find someone who would tell them something awful-more awful than what they all already had seen. She sighed and leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept well, she didn't feel comfortable around most of the people in the group yet. She woke up often and sometimes just sat up awake most of the night. She wondered what had happened to her father and brothers, her other relatives up there in Michigan. Her friends. Even for that matter her husband. She didn't love him, didn't miss him, but she still wondered what had happened to him.

She didn't realize she was crying until a tear splashed her hand. She hastily wiped her hands over her face and rubbed them off on her shorts.

"Ya okay?" Daryl mumbled. He winced at how incredibly stupid that was. Of course she wasn't okay, none of them were okay. Probably never would be okay again.

Isabeau smiled weakly at him. "Just thinking about stuff. Where my family is, what happened to everyone. I mean, how will any of us ever find out? No phones, no internet, no way to contact anyone now." She shook her head and sighed again.

Daryl glanced at her hands, noting no rings there. "Ya gotta husband? Boyfriend? Kids?" he mumbled again. He didn't realize it but his hands had tightened on the steering wheel, anticipating her description of a happy marriage to a wonderful man and a bunch of sweet kids.

To his great relief she shook her head. "No, I actually had an appointment with a lawyer the week everything went to shit," she paused and he frowned. "A divorce lawyer," she explained. "I was married five years and decided that was long enough to be married to a habitual liar and someone who couldn't keep his dick in his pants." She barked a short, bitter laugh. Daryl snorted in surprise at her answer.

"Mmmm," he said, "guess this shit saved you some money then," he said quietly with a small smirk.

Isabeau laughed aloud, a genuinely happy laugh. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "That is a much better way of looking at it than I have been. You are absolutely right," and she laughed some more. Daryl gave a small smile and shrugged in embarrassment.

They pulled up to the CDC later that day, shortly before dusk. Isabeau walked up to the door with Rick and Shane and pressed the intercom, hoping someone would answer. She identified herself as Dr. Isabeau Hussein, recently of Emory Hospital, and identified Rick and Shane as sheriff's deputies. When no one answered, she repeated the message in Spanish. Merle looked at Daryl and raised his eyebrows in surprise. When there was still no response, Isabeau tried punching in different codes into the keypad-number combinations of month/year, etc. Still nothing.

"Let's see if there's some other entrance," Shane suggested, smirking at their lack of success. Merle and Daryl took off to walk around the building to see if there was some other way of entering.

Isabeau punched the intercom again and started yelling. "Dammit, I know someone is in there. All we want is a place to stay the night and to get some information. We aren't here to take over the place or anything like that. If you're that worried, just let one or two of us in so you can see for yourselves." She kicked the wall in frustration, then repeated the message in Spanish. They heard a crackle from the intercom.

"Step back so I can see you more clearly in the camera," echoed from the intercom. Looking up to see the camera high on the wall, Isabeau stepped back with Rick and Shane and waited. "Okay, I'm going to open the door and just two of you can come in," said the voice again. "You, Dr. Hussein, and one other person. Choose quickly, because I'll be opening the door in one minute." Rick nodded to Isabeau.

"Shane stay with our group, I'll go with Isabeau and see what's going on," Rick told Shane. Shane started to protest, but the door opened and Rick and Isabeau entered quickly and the door slammed shut.

Chapter 4

Inside, it took a minute for their eyes to adjust. Although the facility's electricity seemed to still be operational, the lighting was dim. As their eyes adjusted, they saw a man in his forties standing in front of them wearing a white lab coat. Isabeau rolled her eyes at this-the end of the world and no one else probably in this facility and this idiot was still observing the dress rules. She stuck her hand out to shake the stranger's. "Thank you for letting us in. I'm Dr. Hussein, and this is Rick Grimes. How many staff are still here on site?" She wanted to get her bearings before they got down to the important questions.

"I'm Dr. Jennings. Um, most of the staff left to go home to their families once we realized how bad this actually was. There's just me and two others here now-one other doctor and a member of our cleaning staff who was staying here because she had no other place to go." Rick and Isabeau nodded.

"Is there room for my group to settle in here for the night?" Rick asked. "We won't trouble you for more than a day or two. We need to rest up and figure out where to head out to." Isabeau crossed her arms and glared at Dr. Jennings. There was something about this man she didn't like. He wasn't asking anything about what was going on outside, he didn't show the slightest curiosity.

Isabeau tapped her foot in exasperation at his continued silence. "Look," she spat out, "I don't know what's going on here but there are folks outside that need a place to shelter. I don't know about you, but I took an oath to protect folks and do my best to ensure their continued health. This is definitely a situation in which you should be helping out, not hiding in some building ignoring folks." Rick glanced at her in surprise. He could tell she was angry and wanted to tell her to calm down but when he glanced at Dr. Jennings and saw his uncertain look he decided to keep his mouth shut and see where this went.

"Dr. Jennings, how long have you and these two other people been here-since the shit hit the fan? Three weeks?" He nodded. "Well, you have no idea what the hell is going on out there then, right? I'm telling you that we are going to open the door and let our folks in and then you and I and Rick here are going to have a talk-I want to know what you know about how all this virus crap started, what safeguards the CDC had in place, what protocols the government set in case of a disaster like this and where the safety zones are. Do you understand me?" Her voice had gotten very quiet and she had a look on her face that Rick hoped not to ever see directed at him.

Without waiting for a reply from Dr. Jennings, Isabeau turned back to the door and opened it. "C'mon guys, hurry up and come in," she called to the group. She scanned the faces quickly for Merle and Daryl and saw them head up the back. She held the door open for everyone and after they were all in she shut it and secured it so no one else could get in. "Now then, where can all of us find a place to sleep and clean up," she asked Dr. Jennings. He seemed to just stare at all of them in stunned silence for a minute and then cleared his throat.

"There are dorm areas and showers and a kitchen-we have plenty of food. This place was designed for emergencies in case staff had to stay on site. It's all this way," he murmured and they all followed him down a long corridor.


	4. Chapter 4

Before Christmas, Maddie had all but given up attending most of her classes. She had no qualms about wasting her parents' money. A semester at this little college was nothing compared to what they usually spent on trips and parties back home. She dreaded their reaction when the semester ended and they discovered she had flunked her classes, but she would cross that bridge when she got it. She had also all but moved into the little house Marshall lived in. She and Marshall had very quickly become inseparable. He had pursued her relentlessly –showed up at her dorm, sent her flowers, called her and texted her daily. He wasn't jealous or possessive-not obsessed in some sick, stalker kind of way. He seemed to genuinely enjoy her company and encouraged her to indulge in whatever flight of fancy she had that day. She took to spending Sundays with Marshall and his family at their house. Marshall's mother had taken it upon herself to teach Maddie the basics of cooking and some of Marshall's favorite dishes. His mother saw how the two were around each other and had no doubt Marshall was in this one for the long hall. In that case, she believed she'd best teach the girl a few things-it seemed she'd never lifted a hand to even make toast. Marshall's mother especially loved to bake and had started showing Maddie how to make cakes and pies from scratch. Marshall walked out a garden in his back yard that he promised he would help Maddie plant come the spring. They poured over seed catalogs and planned what they could sell at a local farmer's market and what recipes she could try.

Marshall had worked at the local factory while in high school, which gave him a loathing for working for anyone except himself. He took some classes in biology/botany at the local college, read a lot of books and studied some articles on the internet at the local library. After graduation, he moved into a house in the shittier part of town. The house on the outside looked about to fall down, peeling paint, patches in the roof, yard slightly overgrown. He cultivated that look to prevent anyone from thinking there was anything of value inside. Inside he had converted the back two bedrooms-knocked out the wall separating the rooms, and rigged it up as a greenhouse for his pot plants. In time he had managed to improve his set up, cultivated more plants, gotten his product out to a few select buyers and now had a good sum of money in a security box at the bank. Marshall showed Maddie how to care for the plants growing in the back rooms and how to dry and process and package the product. He trusted her and told her he viewed her as his equal partner in his business.

Maddie was surprised to find herself waking up each morning eager for the day to start, a feeling of happiness flooding her whenever she thought of how different her life was now compared to just a few months ago back home. She felt like finally someone cared about her, noticed her, valued her opinion and she felt useful and that she had a purpose. She realized with a start she had no idea what the fall fashions were and had no desire to go shopping in Atlanta or any other bigger city nearby.

Marshall had been the first one to mention the word love. It had been only a month after that second meeting at the bar. She hadn't gone home with him that night-she had made herself be unusually patient and bided her time. When she did finally go home with him after a month of his calls and flowers, he was gentle and sweet and tender in bed and as they lay there afterwards half drowsing he had kissed her on the forehead. "Maddie, I can't believe I'm saying this to you. I'm not the kind of guy who runs after any woman and I'm not the kind of guy who ever pictured living with a woman in a little house with a picket fence and kids. I don't believe in happily ever afters. But I love you. I know we barely know each other, but I do know I love you. I have honestly never felt this way with any woman ever. I don't know what is different about you, but I cannot imagine the rest of my life without you being a part of it." He fell silent, as if overwhelmed himself at what he had just said to her. Maddie rose up on her elbows and looked into his eyes. He gazed back with a small smile. He wasn't nervous or fidgety. He wasn't being demanding or begging. He shrugged as if to tell her he was just stating a fact and she could do with it what she would. He brushed a dark curl out of her eyes and let his hand rest on her shoulder. "I know how you feel Marshall. I feel like you are a part of me that has always been missing. You feel like home to me. I love you too." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, then sighed contentedly and lay her head on his chest. Marshall wrapped his arms around her and let out a little sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. They soon fell asleep holding each other.

Chapter Four

Maddie and Marshall had gotten a Christmas tree from the lot in town and were setting it up in the little living room when there was a knock at the door. Marshall crossed the room and opened the door to find Merle standing there. "Hey Merle. Where's Daryl?" He stood aside and let Merle in, looking out the door to see where Daryl was.

"He's in the truck, didn't want to come in." Merle stomped his feet to get some warmth in them. "Damn, this house is warmer than any house I've ever been in! I don't wanna think what your heat bill is like!" he exclaimed. He glanced around and noticed the tree. "Oh hey, I didn't realize Christmas was coming up so soon. Don't really celebrate it-never was a big deal growing up and haven't ever had much reason to change that." He pointed at the tree. "Looks like I interrupted you two lovebirds in fixing up your first tree." He winked at Maddie. Marshall shook his head and laughed. "No big deal Merle. What can I do for you?" He sat down next to Maddie on the couch and put his arm protectively around her. Merle noticed and snorted. "Don't worry, Marshall, I won't try to steal your girl. I just wanted to buy some pot from ya. Then you two lovebirds can go back to playing house and decorate your tree."

"Sure Merle. How much you want? We just processed some the other day-it's much better quality than we've ever had. I've been playing around with different plants and trying hybrid strains. Won't take much to give you a buzz."

Merle raised his eyebrows and whistled. "More bang for my buck hunh?"

Marshall laughed. "You might say that. C'mon back in the back room and let's see what we can fix you up with." He turned to Maddie. "Baby, why don't you ask Daryl to come on in? This might take a minute, and it's too cold out there even with the heater running" he turned and headed toward the back room with Merle right behind him. Maddie turned to the front door and hesitated. She had not seen Daryl often since the second night at that bar. Once in a while if she and Marshall were out at the bar she would see him playing pool and he was always polite but cool toward her. She had racked her brain trying to think of any way she had insulted him, but could come up with nothing. She had noticed that although he rarely spoke to her, and barely acknowledged her if she spoke to him his eyes always followed her wherever they were. His expression was unreadable but those blue eyes seemed to have some type of reproach or regret in them when she caught him watching her.

She shrugged these thoughts off and pulled a throw around her and headed out the door. Daryl's truck idled in the driveway. She opened the passenger side door and he started. "Goddammit Merle, what took you so long?" he snapped. He'd been gazing morosely out the driver side window, idly chewing the tip of his thumb. As he turned to her, and realized she was not Merle, he rubbed his hand over his mouth in irritation.

"Hey Daryl," Maddie started, "it's going to be a minute while they figure out their business. C'mon inside and stay warm. It's almost hot in there with all the insulation Marshall added, you'll freeze out here in this truck." She realized she was babbling. "I've been baking pies. You're welcome to have some while you wait." Why in the world couldn't she just shut up? she asked herself.

He looked full on into her face. She gazed into his eyes, biting her lip nervously. He shrugged and shook his head. "Naw thanks. I'm fine out here." She frowned. What was wrong with him? Who would rather stay in a shitty cold truck than come into a warm house and eat pie? She suddenly realized she had spoken the words aloud. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nothings wrong with me. Maybe I don't like pie," he mumbled. Now she snorted. "Nobody anywhere doesn't like pie. You can't tell me you don't –don't even try. Now quit being dumb and come inside where it's warm." She laughed to soften the sting of her words. He suddenly gave a short laugh and shrugged again.

"Okay. I'll come in and try some of your damn pie, bossy." He smiled and shook his head.

She seated him at the little table in the tiny kitchen and poured him a glass of milk without asking him and then cut a large slice of her newest pie and placed it onto a plate and presented it to him with a little flourish.

"What kind is it?" he asked as he played with the fork she'd given him.

"Something new I tried-I just thought it up myself," she answered proudly.

"Well, what did you think up?" he asked as he poked the fork at the slice. She laughed.

"Daryl, it's not poison. It's not going to bite you. Take a bite and tell me what you think and then I'll tell you what I put in it."

He glanced at her quizzically. "You do this to Marshall? Make him guess what you put in your pies?" She giggled.

"Yes, and if he guesses correctly he gets a prize!" She turned red at what she'd said and clapped her hands over her mouth in consternation and embarrassment.

Daryl laughed out loud and choked on his drink of milk at that. "Well, okay then. I guess I can be as brave as Marshall." He placed a large bite on his fork and shoveled it into his mouth, expecting something dreadful. Instead, he tasted caramel, chocolate, strawberry and some other fruit all melting and mixing in his mouth –the most delicious piece of pie he'd ever had. He looked up at her with a surprised look on his face. "My God, girl, that is the best damn pie I've ever tasted. Where did you learn to bake like that?" He quickly shoveled another bite into his mouth.

"Truly, Daryl? Is it okay?" She frowned a little, thinking he was teasing her. He nodded his head.

"I'm not teasing you, Maddie. This is amazing. Really. What did you put in it?" He continued to wolf the pie in. Maddie opened her mouth to explain how and why she had decided on the ingredients when Merle stomped into the kitchen.

"Well, well, Marshall, looks like baby brother has your girl feeding him pie now. Probably the pie she baked special for your supper." Daryl turned beet red and slammed the fork down as he glared at Merle. Marshall laughed.

"Oh hey, Merle, Daryl is welcome to eat as much as he wants. Since Maddie discovered she likes to cook I get all kinds of interesting dinners, lunches and breakfasts. I am only too happy to share the wealth-if I tried to eat it all I wouldn't be able to walk!" He started putting saran wrap on the pie Maddie had given a slice to Daryl from. "Here, take the pie home with you. She'll be making another tonight or tomorrow. We have plenty of pie to spare. And come Christmas stop over-she's planning on an epic baking session for the holiday-cookies, breads, you name it. We'll be glad to give you some." He handed Merle the pie and pulled Maddie to him and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing the top of her head he told them, "she is absolutely the best thing to ever happen to me. I wish everyone could be as happy as I am." Merle smirked over at Daryl.

Daryl lowered his eyes and stood up from the table. "Thanks for the pie Maddie. See y'all around." He walked out of the kitchen and out the front door without waiting for Merle. Merle snickered. "I think someone's got a crush on your girl, Marshall." Merle snickered again and headed out the door, closing it tight after him. They heard the old truck's engine rev and then the truck backed out of the driveway and headed out.

Marshall looked down at Maddie in his arms, his chest against her back. He gave her another squeeze and turned her to face him. "Don't pay him any attention. Merle's an asshole and has always seemed to need to poke at Daryl and try to embarrass him. My brothers used to run with Daryl and Merle and they said that's how it's always been-Merle is just relentless with Daryl. I feel kind of sorry for him-he's a nice guy, quiet, doesn't start fights or trouble. He just drifts aimlessly with Merle and Merle treats him like shit. He deserves better. But then, in this town if your family is trash like his is, you aren't going to get a chance at a better life unless you leave here and start over."


	5. Chapter 5

Spring came early and they started plotting out their garden. They had ordered seeds from the catalogs and each day brought a new batch in the mail. Maddie walked the rows eagerly, waiting impatiently for the first sprouts of green to begin to show. Marshall laughed at her. "I can see for a fact now that you were a city girl. You have no idea how long it can take before you see any results." She just told him to hush and let her enjoy her first garden.

One morning in May, she woke early to find Marshall sitting in front of the tv watching the news with a worried look on his face. "Marshall, what's wrong? Why do you look like that?"

He jumped a little and turned his face up to her. "There's a virus. It's spreading pretty quickly. There's already a lot of people dead."

She sat down beside him frowning. "What are you talking about? There hasn't been anything about any virus on the news.." her voice trailed off as she realized she hadn't watched any news for over a week because she'd been busy playing in her garden and baking. She looked at him. "Marshall, talk to me. What's going on?" He took her hands in his and rubbed them absently, as if trying to warm himself. "Marshall, you're scaring me."

He looked at her. "Maddie, we're going to start packing up some shit. I have a bad feeling about this. It seems there's some worldwide virus-they call it a pandemic. People are dropping like flies everywhere. They aren't saying what caused this-but some folks are claiming it's biological warfare. But no one knows who started it or who the original target was. Folks are trying to get out of the bigger cities and highways are getting jammed up for miles. It's just a damn mess."

Maddie sat there, dumbfounded. "You mean it's like that Stephen King book, The Stand? It's the end of the world? That stuff is made up, that isn't real."

Marshall gripped her hands a bit tighter. "Yes Maddie, that's exactly what this is. The end of the world, at least as we know it." He stood up and pulled her up alongside him. "We've got to be smart about this. Start packing, but only what you can carry comfortably. In a backpack. I'll also pack a duffle bag-first aid kit, toilet paper, shampoo, stuff like that. We're going to pack some extra blankets in the car, and fill up some gas cans in case the gas stations are closed."

Maddie stared at him, her mouth open. She shook her head. "No, Marshall. This isn't….this can't be happening. Stuff like this is in the movies or books, it's not real."

Marshall shook her by the shoulders gently. "Baby, this is really happening. It's real. And I'd rather be safe than sorry. We're getting the hell outta here before and if all hell breaks loose. We'll lock up the house just in case. Take anything of any value with you, because if what I'm thinking is true, we won't ever be back here." He gave her a little push in the direction of the bedroom. "Go on and pack Maddie. I'm going to see about getting the car filled up and getting some extra gas. Be thorough, make sure you get everything you need or want." He turned and walked out the door and out to the car before she could make another protest. She sank back down on the couch and stared at the tv, not realizing she was crying.

When Marshall returned to the house a couple of hours later Maddie was in a state of panic. She ran to him and sobbed hysterically as she clutched him to her.

He patted her back absentmindedly. "Mad, did you pack like I asked you to?" She looked up at him-his voice was so strange. She had never heard him sound so…..hollow. She nodded her head and sniffed. "Yes Marshall." She sounded like a child who'd been scolded by her parent. She had never felt so scared in her life as she felt now. She was afraid to let him out of her sight, and trailed after him as he quickly packed a backpack of clothes and a duffle bag of essentials.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front door. "Wait here, I'm going to walk through the house once more real quick." She whimpered as he left her and stood there shaking until he came back just minutes later. He held a couple of large bags of buds. "Might as well take this with us, we may need it." He shoved the bags into his duffel then grabbed the duffel and his backpack. He motioned her to pick her back pack up and they headed out the front door. "We're taking the Range Rover baby. It's all terrain and I have a feeling we're not going to be staying on the roads too long." She opened the passenger door and climbed in. He took the pack from her and placed all the bags in the back. She could smell the fumes from the gas cans-they'd have to keep their windows cracked so they wouldn't get sick. She shook her head. Stupid to worry about gas fumes when the world was falling apart.

Marshall climbed into the driver's seat. He opened the glove compartment and removed a gun. She stared at him. "When we get to a safe place, you're getting target lessons. I got some extra ammo and a couple of shotguns in the back there as well. We don't know what we're going to run into, I'm not taking any chances. You're going to know how to defend yourself just in case…." He faltered. "Just in case we get separated or anything." She started crying again and even though it was spring and the day was warm and sticky she started shivering, her teeth chattering. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I love you Maddie." He bit his lip and then backed out of the driveway and they headed out of town.

They drove in silence. They had stopped at Marshall's parents' house and he had tried to convince them to come with him and Maddie but they had stubbornly insisted on staying in their house –they didn't want looters to get what little they had. Marshall tried to tell them looters would be the least of their worries, but they wouldn't budge. Frustrated, Marshall had hugged his father and kissed his mother and got back in the Rover. He closed his eyes briefly then sighed and backed out of the driveway. Maddie bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

They passed the few stores in town-folks were running in and out carrying anything they could get their hands on. You would have thought there was a rare ice storm or snow storm coming this way. The three gas stations this side of town had lines at the pumps and there were a couple of fights breaking out near the pumps. There was a definite air of hysteria and panic enveloping the town. Maddie closed her eyes tightly, trying her best to stop her shivering. She knew her panic wasn't helping Marshall and if they were going to get through this they both had to be strong. When she felt the car stop suddenly, she opened her eyes. There beside them on Marshall's side was Daryl's truck, with him and Merle inside. Marshall rolled his window down, and Daryl did likewise.

"Guess you saw the news huh?" Merle shouted over Daryl's shoulder. Daryl stared across at Maddie. It seemed as if he were trying to memorize her face. She stared numbly back at Daryl. She wondered what would have happened if she had spoken to him instead of Marshall that night. Would she and Daryl have ended up together? Would he have been happy with her? She realized that she might not ever see Daryl Dixon again, and that thought hurt her in a way she couldn't explain. Her life from now on might be year after year of running, and wondering what had happened to different folks she had once known. She suddenly hopped out of the rover and ran around to Daryl's door. Merle had gotten out of the truck and was standing talking to Marshall. The roads were deserted at this point, the mass exodus had yet to begin.

Daryl looked at her. "Girl get back in the truck. We all need to get the hell outta here quick and Marshall will keep you safe. Don't be doing anything foolish and get yourself separated from him." He was biting his thumb and kept glancing anxiously over at Merle and Marshall.

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her. "Daryl Dixon, you promise you'll keep yourself safe. I expect to see you again in one piece when all this shit settles down." She started to cry and grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him. He put his hands in her hair and kissed her back with all the passion he hadn't been able to show her before. He put all his love and wanting and hope in that kiss.

They let go and gazed at each other-realizing too late how they felt about each other. Daryl felt his heart break-now that he finally knew how she felt, it was too late. Too late for both of them. It was the end of the world and they would probably never lay eyes on each other again. But at least he had the knowledge that she felt about him as he did about her, and he knew when he died he would be remembering the feel of her lips on his with his last breath.

Marshall coughed. Maddie turned and went back around the rover and climbed into the seat and shut the door. She clipped her seatbelt on, never looking over at Marshall nor over to Daryl in his truck. Merle banged his hand on Marshall's door. "Y'all take care of yourselves. We're heading into the woods up north. Some hunting cabins up there that we're familiar with. Hunker down and wait to see what happens."

Marshall nodded. "You take care of yourselves too, Merle. Daryl. Hope we see ya on the other side." He put the truck into gear and started off. Maddie realized he hadn't told them where they were headed. She looked over at him, not realizing she was crying again. Marshall gave her a long, steady look, then smiled a tired smile. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"Where are we going Marshall?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Don't know. I think we need to get up North somewhere, near the Canadian border. Not a lot of folks up that way. We can find some old cabin up there and wait out the worst of it. Then when the dust settles we can see about heading to D.C. or some other city. Maybe by then order will be restored and we can start rebuilding our lives." He looked over at her. "Sound like a plan, baby?" She nodded wordlessly and squeezed his hand back. "Get some rest Maddie. I'll drive as far as I safely can and then we'll stop and rest somewhere for the night." She hesitantly leaned the seat back and pulled a throw up over her. Still cold. She wondered if she'd ever feel warm again. She slowly drifted off to sleep, lulled by the movement of the car.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 8

The next day, Isabeau insists on driving since she senses Daryl has been up all night on watch. He argues at first, then grudgingly agrees to rest for a short while and let her drive. After they pack all their supplies in the various vehicles and head off on a northerly route, Daryl leans his head against the window and quickly falls into a light doze.

After driving through the morning and part of the afternoon, the group pulls onto an offramp and they stop at an abandoned gas station near the exit. Everyone gets out to stretch their legs. Daryl starts awake and looks around sleepily, then steps out of the truck and stretches. Rick and the other men discuss stopping for the night-they agree they should continue on this side road and maybe find some old motel or farm where they can set up for the night. They all get back into their vehicles, this time Daryl insisting he's rested up enough to drive.

They stop on an access road to what looks to be a farm. Rick, Shane, Merle and Daryl decide to get nearer the farm to it's safety and the possibility of bunking there for the night. Carl wanders off with them and the others of the group stretch their legs again and wait to see what Rick and that group decide.

Carl is shot, Rick runs with Carl to the farmhouse. A young dark haired girl rides up and tells Lori what has happened and rides off with Lori on the horse with her. The rest of the group gets in their vehicles and continues down the road and stops in view of the farm but not too close in case there is trouble. Daryl walks with Isabeau toward the farmhouse so she can see about Carl's injury. Shane and Merle follow and the others set up a makeshift camp and wait to see what will happen.

As Isabeau approaches the porch, the brunette stops her. Isabeau explains that she is a surgeon and the brunette takes her inside to the kitchen where Rick is pacing anxiously, Lori is crying and Carl is laid out on the table while an older man is examining the gunshot wound. He glances up and frowns at Isabeau.

"I'm a surgeon," Isabeau explains. The older man raises his brows in surprise.

"Yeah, she was one of my surgeons when I was shot and at a hospital in Atlanta," Rick says anxiously.

The older man nods slowly and steps to the side so Isabeau can examine Carl. She saw the wound was a through and through in his right shoulder. "Do you have something I can clean the wound with?" she asked while still examining the wound gently. The older man nodded and he and the brunette set out antiseptic and bandages. "Anything for pain?" she asked again without looking up.

"Nothing stronger than aspirin," the older man mumbled. Isabeau glanced up at him frowning.

"I thought you're a doctor," she said questioningly.

"My daddy's a vet," the brunette interjected. Isabeau glanced at both of them sharply and bit her lip to keep herself from saying any more.

She sighed and set about cleaning Carl's wound carefully and gently and then bandaging him up. She glanced over at Rick and Lori and gave them a slight smile. "This is a through and through. I didn't feel any fragments in the wound. If we keep it clean he should heal just fine. He'll be in pain, but nothing he can't handle-from what I've seen he seems to be a pretty tough kid." Rick and Lori nodded. Isabeau turned to Herschel. "Can we trouble you for a room so Carl can get some rest and his parents can watch over him?" She saw the older man hesitate. "The rest of us will stay outside and keep watch over your farm so all of us stay safe." She glanced out toward the front door and saw Daryl leaning in the doorway watching her. "Daryl, can you tell the others to set up a watch schedule and set up camp? And let them know Carl will be fine." Daryl nodded and walked out to the yard where Merle and Shane were waiting. Isabeau motioned for Rick to pick Carl up and turned to the older man. "Which room can we make Carl comfortable in?"

"He can stay in my room," volunteered a small, blonde teenage girl. She motioned for Rick to follow her up the stairs and Lori followed them.

Isabeau turned to Herschel and saw him frowning at her. "I want to thank you for taking us in like this. We won't overstay our welcome, just a day or so until Carl is more stable. In exchange for helping us this way, we'll be glad to help you out with anything here on the farm that needs taken care of and keeping watch for your place."

"We don't want your help. Don't need it. Haven't had any trouble so far," the older man bit out. The brunette looked uncertainly from Isabeau to her father.

Isabeau nodded. "I understand that sir, and you can count yourself very lucky indeed that you haven't had any trouble. We'll show you some things to safeguard your place and your family before we go so that you can all remain safe." She turned to the brunette. "Can you get me a basin of some sort with some cool water and some washcloths? Carl will need them in case he runs a fever. And can you give me a bottle of aspirin and some water for him to drink?" The girl nodded and started collecting the items requested. Her father sighed in irritation and exasperation and started to clean the table of the stained sheets and other items Isabeau had used to treat Carl. The blonde girl came down the stairs and stood uncertainly in the doorway. Isabeau smiled at her. "Thanks so much for offering them your room, that was very generous of you," she said and crossed the room toward the girl. "There's another girl in the group maybe around your age, would you like to come outside with me and meet her?" The girl looked uncertainly toward her father. The father kept his back to her, so the girl looked toward what Isabeau assumed was her sister. The brunette nodded silently to the blonde and Isabeau and the girl walked out to the porch. "My name is Isabeau, what's yours?"

Chapter 9

Isabeau learned the young blonde's name was Beth, her sister was Maggie and her father was Herschel. They were the Greenes, and her father was the local veterinarian. She also learned Beth's mother and brother had recently died in a surprise attack by walkers, and that the family had a caretaker and his wife-Patricia and Otis-were staying with them. Otis had been the one who had accidentally shot Carl while hunting for a deer. He was sitting in the yard, distraught, and Patricia had been trying to comfort him. He calmed down some once Isabeau informed him that Carl would be fine in a few days as long as he got some rest and the wound was kept clean.

Isabeau introduced Beth to the members of her group that had set up camp in the nearby pasture-Ed, Carol and their daughter Sophia, Dale, Andrea and her sister Amy, Shane, Tdog, Jim, Merle and Daryl, Glen. Beth and Amy struck up a conversation and immediately set about giggling and joking. It was nice to see Amy enjoying herself a bit after all that had happened. Isabeau left Beth to talk to Amy and walked over to Daryl and Merle. "Have you guys set up a watch schedule and all that stuff?" she whispered to them. They nodded.

"What's the story with that old guy?" Merle asked frowning.

"Well, I think he's still in shock from losing his wife and son. I don't think he's dealing with reality very well right now. He wants us gone in a day or two-but I don't see how they'd survive if a horde of walkers overran this place. They'd actually be better off if we stayed on here or they came with us." Isabeau frowned, thinking of what would happen to the family if left here on their own. "Where did you set my duffel bag," she asked Daryl. "I should have some pain meds and antibiotics in there I can give Carl. The father is a veterinarian, he doesn't have anything I can use for Carl."

Merle snorted and shook his head in disgust. "I'm gonna go see about where I'm gonna take my watch. Baby brother you help Beau out with the meds and hauling what she needs up to the house," and Merle turned and strode off toward Shane and Dale and the other men. Isabeau followed Daryl silently over to the truck they had arrived in and Daryl pulled her duffel bag she had stocked from the CDC and the hospital. He shown a flashlight on the bag while she sorted through the contents, pulling some items out and setting them to the side. After a few minutes she zipped the bag up and gathered the items in her shirt she folded up to carry them in. Daryl nodded and walked ahead of her back to the house, shining the flashlight and grabbing her arm when she stumbled. On the porch he turned the flashlight off and sat on the swing.

"I'll wait out here for ya," he mumbled, not looking at her. She nodded and stepped inside and went up the stairs to the room Carl was in. Rick and Lori had pulled up some chairs beside the bed and Lori half lay on the bed, dozing lightly. Rick looked up and smiled weakly at Isabeau.

"I've brought something for his pain and some antibiotics I got from the hospital," she whispered. "How is he resting?"

"He seems to be sleeping pretty deep, hasn't really moved much," Rick whispered back. Isabeau nodded toward the basin and cloths that sat on the night table.

"If he starts running a fever, start wetting those and laying them on his forehead and neck," she whispered. "He shouldn't have a fever, but just in case we need to be prepared." She felt Carl's pulse and felt his forehead for fever. She quickly gave him a shot of antibiotics and a shot for pain. Carl stirred slightly but went on sleeping. "He's probably worn out more than anything with all that's been going on the last couple of weeks. This is a good opportunity for him to rest up –eat some regular food and sleep in a real bed. It's a good thing we were near this place when he got shot, he'll do better resting in here than he would've if we were still on the road looking for a place to stay," Isabeau murmured. "You and Lori try and get some rest too. We all need to take advantage of this opportunity for a day or so. No telling when we'll get to another relatively safe place." Isabeau turned toward the door and glanced back at Rick. He looked just utterly exhausted, an emotional wreck. "Don't hesitate to come get me if you think Carl needs to be looked at for anything," she said. Rick nodded without taking his eyes from Carl. She was glad she'd been here to help his son-he was a good man, she trusted him and felt he had the good of the group first and foremost when making decisions. It was a shame he was married to such a bitch. And that his wife had apparently lost no sleep or time in bedding down with Shane when she thought Rick was dead. Isabeau shook her head at her thoughts and headed back downstairs to the porch. Daryl got up quickly and turned the flashlight on. "Hey, I think I should stay here in the house, maybe stay on the couch in case Rick or Lori need me for anything," she started. Daryl nodded and started to turn away. Isabeau grabbed his arm lightly, not wanting to startle him. "Stay here with me," she said. Daryl looked at her in surprise. She wasn't asking him. She was telling him, but not in a demanding or bossy way. And damn if there wasn't that little shock again when her hand touched his arm. Even through his sleeve he could feel it. He nodded slowly.

"Mkay," he mumbled. "I'll keep watch and you can sleep," he started back into the living room, his bow slung across his back.

"Where did Herschel go, the girls' father?" she whispered as he settled in a large puffy chair in front of the window. She pulled a loveseat closer to him and sat down on the end nearest him. He looked out the window and then turned back to her.

"He went outside, said he was looking for his daughters," Daryl mumbled crossly. He hadn't like the way Herschel had looked at him when he had come out onto the porch and seen Daryl sitting on the swing. Like he was trouble. It made all the old feelings of resentment bubble up inside him again. The end of the world and he still had to deal with that bullshit.

"Maggie went out there too?" she whispered again. He nodded. "Good for her. Those two girls need to be around someone their age, not cooped up in here with their father and the help. Maybe we can get their dad to be more friendly if he sees his daughters are making friends and that we're no threat to the family," she trailed off, thinking.

Daryl smirked at her. "I thought you were a doctor, not some kind of matchmaker," he mumbled.

Isabeau laughed softly. "Well, if it works to our advantage I'm all for it," she giggled softly.

Daryl shook his head and snorted. "Ya best get to sleep so you can be ready for matchmaking tomorrow," he whispered and pulled a curl of her hair teasingly. "Ya hair's falling down out of it's clip again," he murmured, softly running his fingers through the curls that had escaped and hung about her face. Isabeau pulled the clip out and stood and flipped her head upside down and ran her fingers through her curls, then flipped her head right side up again, flinging the curls over her shoulders in a wild mass. The moon had risen, not a full moon but close, and it's light was bright enough to illuminate Isabeau's face and the cascade of her auburn curls down her back. She smiled at him, raising her hands over her head and stretching.

"It feels good to have it down sometimes. It's so thick and heavy that sometimes it gives me a headache if I leave it up all day," she ran her hands through her curls, luxuriating in the sudden release of weight from having her hair bound on top of her head. Daryl watched her silently, unable to think of any type of reply that wouldn't sound cheesy or stupid or creepy. He had no skill whatsoever when it came to talking to women, and even though he found himself feeling more and more comfortable around Isabeau he still had difficulty holding any type of casual conversation with her. Truth was he still couldn't understand why in the world she seemed to seek him out. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, wondering why she stood there looking at him so seriously. He cleared his throat and looked down at his bow, wondering what he should do or say.

Isabeau saw she had made him uncomfortable, but also saw he was making no move to leave. She smiled slightly. He seemed to be attracted to her, but was socially awkward enough to be unsure of how to proceed. And she reminded herself again to be patient, let him proceed at his own pace. Patience was not her strong suit, but she believed her patience would be worth it if he was indeed attracted enough to her to eventually do something about it. She sat on again on the couch and yawned exaggeratedly. "Oh I'm tired," she murmured. Daryl seemed to relax slightly. "I'm going to lay down, but wake me if Rick needs anything or anybody else does," she whispered and proceeded to lie down on the couch, her head near him. The loveseat wasn't very big, but she was small and fit comfortably on it. Daryl was amazed again at how small she was. Awake she seemed a force to be reckoned with, in a good way. At rest you remembered how small and fragile she really was. He settled in the chair comfortably and kept watch over her while she slept.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 10

Isabeau woke to the sound of roosters and birds. She was confused for a moment as to where she was, then raised up and looked around and remembered. She saw someone-Daryl most likely-had draped a light blanket over her while she slept. The breeze coming through the windows was slightly cool, but she was sure by midmorning it would have died down and the day would become just as swelteringly hot as the previous day had been. She had been in Atlanta last summer, and nearly every day had regretted not picking a hospital up North to do her surgical residency in. She missed the mild temperatures and cool nights of Michigan in the summer. Maybe if the group headed into the mountains and found a safe place she could have a relief from this heat before the end of summer.

She stood and stretched, pushed the loveseat back to it's former spot and folded the blanket. She had no idea what time it was, but it still seemed fairly early. Looking out the window she could see some stirring in the camp. She didn't see Daryl anywhere. She hadn't heard him leave, so she had no idea how long he'd been gone.

Isabeau wandered into the kitchen and found Maggie and Glen sitting side by side at the table, whispering. When they heard Isabeau, they looked up quickly and both turned beet red.

"I see you've met Glen," Isabeau murmured, laughing softly. Maggie turned even more red and Glen covered his face with his hand. Isabeau laughed slightly louder. "Hey, no worries-the only secrets I can't keep are my own," and she turned down the hall to find the bathroom.

After washing up some, Isabeau walked back into the kitchen to find Beth and Maggie starting breakfast along with Andrea and Carol and Amy. "Do you need me to help do anything?" she asked the women. Carol shook her head.

"No we've got it covered. Have you checked on Carl yet?" she asked.

"I'm going up now," Isabeau answered. She headed up the stairs and peeked into the room where Carl lay sleeping. She also saw Lori had made a pallet on the floor and was sleeping soundly, while Rick had fallen asleep in the chair he had pulled close to the bed. Isabeau felt Carl's forehead quietly, and took his pulse. He wasn't running a fever and his pulse was steady. Rick woke up and saw Isabeau.

"How is he?" he rasped.

"Well, he isn't running a fever and his pulse is steady. I'll wait a bit before I check his wound. How did he sleep?" She whispered.

"He never stirred. He slept more soundly than he has since he was a baby," Rick replied in a soft voice.

"Part of that was the pain meds," she replied. "I can watch him for a while if you and Lori want to clean up and get something to eat," she offered. "The Greene girls and some from our group are making breakfast in the kitchen." Rick nodded and reached over to Lori and shook her shoulder gently. Lori stirred slowly.

"C'mon Lori. Beau is going to watch Carl for a bit so we can clean up and eat something," he whispered. Lori started up and crossed over to the bed quickly.

"He slept through the night, no fever and his pulse is steady," Isabeau told her. "I'm glad to sit with him so you two can eat something." She offered. Lori nodded and touched Carl's hand softly, then turned and walked out of the room with Rick following. Isabeau sighed and sat back in the chair.

Chapter 11

An hour later, Rick and Lori came back up the stairs and into the room. Carl was sleeping. Isabeau had carefully checked his wound while Rick and Lori were gone from the room. There were no signs of infection. She had changed the bandages and when Carl had briefly opened his eyes she had asked him if he was in pain. He had shaken his head and drifted quickly back to sleep. Isabeau had given him another pain shot and antibiotic shot. She related all of this to Rick and Lori and then left them to watch over Carl.

Going into the kitchen, she saw the women had set up a buffet of eggs and ham and biscuits and jelly and gravy along with bottles of juice and water set out. Carol and Andrea were sitting at the table relaxing. She saw Amy and Beth and Sophia out on the back porch on the stairs. She heard Maggie and Glen in the living room.

"Everyone get a chance to eat?" she asked as she stepped over to the counter to look over the various dishes laid out.

"Yes," Carol answered. "Herschel is out in the camp, talking to Dale and Jim and Ed. Shane and Merle are sitting on the front porch. I don't know where Daryl is-no one has seen him all morning." Carol sounded slightly worried. Isabeau frowned and laid her plate back down, her appetite gone. Isabeau started toward the front porch.

Standing in front of Merle and Shane she looked over the yard again for a glimpse of Daryl.

"Hey shortstack, don't worry. Baby brother gets restless sometimes and has to go wander around out in the woods to blow off some steam. He'll be back soon," Merle told her, winking. Isabeau frowned at him. Why wasn't he worried? No matter how competent someone was, it was just foolish to go off alone nowadays.

Isabeau started down the stairs and headed toward the fence that marked the perimeter of the yard. She had been a runner in junior high and high school. Never on the track team or anything serious like that, she just liked to run to relieve stress and let out some energy. She hadn't had a chance to run now in weeks-not since the virus had started spreading and made going out anywhere dangerous. When she missed her runs, she felt like she had an overabundance of energy bottled up. It made her temper short and made her irritable. She looked down and saw if she wanted to run she needed to change. She walked over to the truck and rifled through her back pack for a pair of shorts. The tank top she had on would do, she just needed to change her shorts. She opened the passenger door and shucked off the cargo shorts and pulled on the running shorts. No one could see her change with the door open. Not that she cared. She flung the cargo shorts on the floor of the truck and did some warm up stretches by the truck, then started off toward the fence slowly. She could see the others in the group watching her. She was used to that down here-most folks didn't walk very much, much less run. She frowned that she had forgotten to clip her hair up, but she already felt better with her slow trot she didn't want to stop and go back in the house and look for the clip.

She settled into a rhythm and ran slowly at first, gradually gaining speed. She paced her breathing and made sure not to run too fast, she wanted to run a few laps and knew she was rusty from the weeks of inactivity. She smiled as she felt the sun warm on her face and shoulders, and was glad it was still early and the day had yet to turn steamy and hot. It was easier to breathe if you ran early in the morning here-even in the evening the air was incredibly humid and made it difficult to keep a steady pace and breathing.

She ran the perimeter of the fence, taking her behind the barn out back and to the far left side of the house. As she rounded the front of the house again she saw the group still watching her. She shook her head and tried to clear her mind and just think of the running-trying to empty herself of everything but the movement of her legs, the feel of the sun on her face and the smell of the grass and flowers in the yard and field. She picked up her pace slightly, enjoying the feel in her legs of the muscles stretching. She was sweating a bit now, and that felt good too-it felt like she was getting rid of anything negative in her system. She rounded the front a second time and saw the group had gone back to whatever they were doing and had stopped watching for her. She fell into a steady pace and breathed deeply in and out as her legs churned her around the field a third time. She smiled happily. She figured she'd do one more lap and then shower-she didn't want to push things and injure herself.

As she neared the back of the barn the fourth time, she caught sight of Daryl standing near the back of the barn, his head cocked in a listening position. He caught sight of her and waved to her to come over. Isabeau slowed her pace and turned toward him. He held up a finger to his mouth to caution her to keep quiet. She pulled up beside him, trying not to pant loudly as she bent over to stretch and try and cool down. She stood back up and frowned at him. He motioned for her to stand by him and listen.

Isabeau stood with her head tilted toward the wall, then jumped back quickly, a startled look on her face. Daryl nodded and walked a small distance away from the barn. He motioned for her to follow.

"That barn has got goddam walkers in it," he whispered angrily. Isabeau looked at the barn and back at him, nodding. "I got restless early this morning and headed out here to walk around a bit. I started hearing that moaning and scratching. I went out into the fields around here and the woods to see if there were any out there as well as in the barn. I didn't see any signs of any horde or stragglers out there. So I don't know who the hell is in the barn, but for some reason that old man has got walkers penned up in there." He paced angrily back and forth in front of Isabeau.

Before she could say anything in reply, Merle showed up. "Hey girlie, what's going on?" he hollered. "When ya didn't come back around the front I wondered where ya got to," he continued loudly. Daryl waved his hand at Merle to shut up, but it was too late. The walkers in the barn got louder and now Merle heard them. "What the hell is going on back here," he yelled angrily, looking at the barn. "Have you locked some walkers up or something?" he demanded, grabbing Daryl's shirt. Daryl tore loose from Merle's grip angrily.

"Fuck no," he spat out, "I heard some noise this morning and followed the noise to the barn. I don't know how manys in there or why. I was just telling Beau about it when you came barging up yelling like an idiot," he huffed out in disgust.

Merle shook his head angrily. "Maybe this is the real reason that old man don't want our group here," he growled. "Maybe we need to ask him just what the hell is going on." He headed back to the front of the house with Daryl and Isabeau following. Without thinking, Daryl grabbed Isabeau's hand and pulled her up beside him and slowed his stride so she could keep up.

The three rounded the front of the house to find Herschel arguing with Shane and some of the others.

"What's going on," Merle interrupted belligerently.

"Glen and Maggie went on a supply run to town by themselves and he's pissed and wants us to leave right now," Shane ground out.

"Bullshit," Isabeau spat out. "You know Carl can't be moved yet. And you can't have been too damned worried about your daughters when you have," here Daryl placed his hand over her mouth and pulled her back against his chest. She shook her head angrily and tried to stomp his foot, but he tightened his hand on her mouth and whispered in her ear.

"Hush now, we have to be careful how we handle this. Just be still a minute and let me and Merle talk to Shane and the others." He pinched her cheek with his finger and let go of her. Her eyes filled up with angry tears and she crossed her arms over her chest and blew out her lip in an angry pout. Daryl felt bad about silencing her, but he didn't trust Shane or Merle not to get riled up and do something stupid right now. He walked over to Merle and motioned for Shane and the others to follow him over to his truck.

He quickly explained what he had heard in the barn, and told the others that the walkers needed to be taken care of before they broke loose and killed anyone. But he also insisted that they talk to Herschel first to see why he had walkers penned up in his barn. The others agreed and Dale said he'd do the talking since he and Herschel had spent most of the previous night talking about family and the virus. They approached the porch again, where Herschel sat frowning on the swing. Beth had appeared in the doorway and stood watching. Isabeau looked up and saw Rick watching from the bedroom window.

"Herschel, can you tell us why there are walkers penned up in your barn and how long you've had them in there?" Dale began. Beth gasped in surprise and looked over at her father in disbelief.

"It's my barn, and it's my business," Herschel snapped. Dale shook his head.

"No, Herschel, I'm sorry but this is everybody's business. We need to make sure we're safe while we're here. We also want to be sure that you and your family are safe when we leave. We can't leave knowing you've got walkers penned up in your barn. Those walkers get out, they bite folks, that makes more walkers. That makes hordes. And that is a problem for anyone around here, not just your family." He paused for Herschel to absorb this. "Now, I'm asking politely. Why are there walkers in your barn and how long have they been in there?"

Beth started to cry. Maggie and Glen pulled up in a truck just then and Maggie hopped out and quickly ran up the steps to Beth.

"What's going on Daddy?" Maggie asked. Herschel sighed.

"The folks in my barn are my family and friends," Herschel said tiredly. Maggie and Beth both shrieked in horror and started to cry.

"What are you talking about," Maggie yelled at her father.

"Your momma and brother are in there," Herschel explained. "I didn't know what to do after they turned. So I just shut them in the barn. Beth's friend Jimmy showed up, a walker, and I shut him in the barn too. A few stragglers from the farms down the road showed up and they got shut up as well. I just didn't know what to do with them. I couldn't let them just roam around and take the chance of my girls getting bit." He sighed and put his hands over his face and leaned over, ashamed.

Rick showed up in the doorway and squeezed past the Greene girls who clung to each other sobbing. Rick looked over at Shane and nodded.

"Herschel, I'm sorry but we're going to have to put the walkers down. We can't leave them in your barn. They'll get out and kill your family or anyone else that happens to be around here." Rick waited for some response from Herschel. When none was forthcoming, he walked slowly down the steps toward Shane and the other men. "Okay then, we need to get our ammo and weapons and head toward the barn and take care of it," Rick said. Rick and Shane headed toward the barn, with Merle and Daryl following. Daryl looked toward Isabeau and saw how angry she was. She turned her back on him and stomped up the stairs to go inside and clean up from her run. Maggie and Beth sat on the porch steps, calming down as Carol, Andrea, Amy and Sophia talked quietly to them. Glen looked toward Maggie uncertainly, then headed back toward the barn with Dale and the other men.

Isabeau popped her head into the room where Carl slept. Lori was sitting in the chair, dozing lightly. Carl seemed to be resting comfortably, so Isabeau went into the bathroom and started the shower. Apparently the farm had a well and some kind of hook up that had kept the house in running water and flushing toilets. Isabeau stripped off her running clothes angrily and stepped out of her shoes and stepped into the shower, grateful for the hot water. As she began to lather up she heard shots in the distance, from the direction of the barn. She knew logically that Daryl had been right to tell her to keep quiet, she just didn't like the way he had done it. She sighed. She was probably not going to like a lot of things he did-he had been raised entirely differently than she had, and truthfully men in the South had a much different way of looking at women than men in the North had. She was lucky any of them had listened to anything she had said so far-and that was probably only because of Rick's stamp of approval of her because she had been his doctor and kept him alive. She would have to tread carefully if she wanted to keep their respect and have them listen to anything she said. But that didn't mean she had to be a doormat and be meek about it.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time Isabeau had dressed in her running shorts and shirt again, after rinsing it out, and come downstairs again the group had reassembled in the front yard and were talking with Rick quietly. Stepping out onto the porch, Isabeau saw Daryl look her way and she stuck her tongue out at him. He started in surprise then smirked in relief. She was still mad at him, but no sense in fighting about it all day. There were more important things to worry about. She wandered back into the kitchen and grabbed a biscuit that was left on a platter. The food had been cleared away and dishes cleaned and put away. The kitchen was spotless again. Nibbling on the biscuit, Isabeau peered out the back door and saw some of their men digging graves for the walkers they'd killed. They all knew that the noise of the gunshots would likely attract a horde soon-if not today, then tomorrow. They would have to start packing up and get on the road by this afternoon to be on the safe side. She wondered if Herschel and his family would be coming along with them. She sighed and sat down on the back steps, dropping most of the biscuit on the ground as she ate it.

"Sure are a messy eater," she heard from behind her. Glancing back, she saw Daryl standing behind her on the porch, chewing at his finger. She had already pegged it as a nervous habit of his. She could see he was uncertain of her reaction, and knew that if she showed her temper he would stalk off and likely not talk to her for days. She would have hurt his feelings. Men like this always felt that whatever they did should be seen as them being protective-they weren't good with words and usually uncomfortable with emotions. The fact that he had sought her out meant that he was hoping she would understand and forgive him. She stood up and brushed the crumbs off.

"That's the least of my bad habits," she said, smiling softly up at him. He visibly relaxed and his eyes seemed a deeper blue suddenly.

"Mmmm, ya have a lot of bad habits," he asked teasingly. She walked up to him and stood in front of him, as close as she could get without touching him. She turned her face up to him and looked seriously at him.

"Oh yes," she whispered, "I have a vicious temper. All redheads do," she continued. He reached out and playfully pulled on a curl. She had left her hair down to dry and it was frizzing up from the humidity.

"That's what I've heard," he mumbled, avoiding her eyes and instead continuing to play with her curls.

"I talk too much," she continued. He smiled and gave a short laugh.

"Maybe not too much, but you sure do talk more than any person I've ever met," he said quietly.

"I have no patience," she whispered. "I am too quick to jump into things." She continued to gaze at him seriously, and he knew she was telling him all this so he could decide if she was worth his time and trouble.

"Like what?" he asked. She shrugged, embarrassed.

"Relationships. Once I've made my mind up, I expect things to move at my pace. It's hard for me to wait for the other person to get their bearings," she whispered and at this her gaze dropped to her hands, clutched nervously in front of her.

Daryl placed his hand on hers softly felt again that surge of feeling between them. He was damned if he knew why he felt like that when he touched her, but he knew he liked it. It made him feel as if a bolt of electricity had been shot through him-he felt like his vision was more clear, his hearing more acute, all his senses opened up to maximum. Looking closely at her, he saw that she was feeling the same way he did. He leaned toward her and whispered softly into her ear, "I doubt you ever had any complaints about that." She shivered as his breath stirred her curls against her skin. "We all have bad habits. Some worse than others. I doubt yours are so bad they would keep someone from wanting to be with you." Isabeau looked up at him quickly, biting her lip softly. He smiled slightly down at her. The way she was looking up at him was unlike any look he had ever gotten from anyone, much less any woman. She looked at him like he was somebody worth something, what he said mattered to her. He had never had that with anyone, not his parents, not Merle, not anybody. "Why are you even talking to me," he asked her softly. "I'm not someone that someone like you would ever talk to before all this happened. Why are you worried about your bad habits instead of my past and my bad habits?" he gazed steadily into her eyes, as if he could see what she was thinking. She had already noted that he had a very accurate lie detector-he instinctively seemed to sense when a situation wasn't right or a person wasn't being truthful.

"I don't know," she admitted softly. "I just know I feel safe when I know you're around. I feel like you actually listen to me, and think about what I say and you don't think I'm some stupid girl who always needs help getting out of trouble." He nodded slowly, watching her quietly.

"That's important to ya, that someone takes ya seriously?" he asked. She nodded. "Me too. Ain't nobody ever really listened to what I said. Not even Merle. Maybe that's why we…" here he stopped, at a loss as to how to proceed.

"Yes, I think so too," she finished for him. He squeezed her hands and turned toward the steps.

"Let's go round front and see what's going on. We'll probly leave here this afternoon or tomorrow morning." He pulled her along with him toward the front of the house. She followed along quietly, wondering what had just passed between them. She didn't really care, as long as it meant he would be by her side from now on.


	9. Chapter 9

The group was packed up and ready to head out. Herschel and Patricia and Otis had elected to stay behind on the farm. No amount of pleading could sway them. Herschel insisted that his daughters go along with Rick's group. "My family's owned this land for generations. I was born here, and I'm going to die here. My life is mostly over anyway. I've lost my son and my wife. I want to send my girls off with you so they have a chance at living-they won't have it here." Herschel hugged both girls as they sobbed and then he turned to Rick and shook his hand. "Please take good care of them," he whispered, tears coursing down his cheeks. He turned and headed back to the porch where Patricia and Otis sat.

Glen pulled Maggie toward Rick's truck where they would ride with Rick's family. Amy and Andrea pulled Beth toward Dale's RV. Merle took up the lead again on his bike and Daryl and Isabeau took the tail end of the caravan. They had decided to stay on back roads, following a map Herschel had given them. They had also decided to keep to a northerly route, headed toward the mountains. They knew they were in South Carolina now, and wanted to make it up to the mountains in Virginia to look for a place to settle.

They drove all that late afternoon and into the evening before stopping at an abandoned mom and pop grocery store and gas station. It looked to have been abandoned long before the virus had hit-probably whoever had owned it had left when the traffic had dropped on the old highway and their business had gone the way of the traffic. They circled the trucks and Rv to have an area in the middle to sit and stretch. The men decided on who would stand watch when. The women set about fixing some kind of supper for the group. Isabeau checked on Carl, who had been laid on a fold out couch in the RV while Lori had kept watch over him. He had woken up and talked a bit, still no fever and the wound still safe from infection. He had some pain, but it was manageable. Isabeau suggested he try to stick to broth and crackers and water for now, maybe some real food tomorrow. Isabeau then asked Lori how she was feeling and checked Lori's ankles for swelling and took Lori's pulse and temperature. She had gotten a couple of thermometers from the mess inside her duffel and given one to Lori so she could keep an eye on Carl.

After seeing to Carl and Lori, Isabeau stepped out of the RV and stretched. Riding in the car had made her restless, but she knew better than to try to run anywhere out here in the dark. She decided to do some Yoga stretches and walked away a bit so no one would be in her way and started to do her warmup moves. As she stretched and turned, she could feel her tension easing out of her. Her breathing slowed, and she closed her eyes slightly and smiled as she went through some basic moves. She wished she had thought to put some kind of mat or towel or something down so she lie down and do some of the poses on her back. She started doing her cool down poses, and heard a cough to her right. Opening her eyes, she saw Merle watching her, an appreciative look in his eyes.

"What's that you're doing girlie?" he rasped.

"Yoga. It's good for balance, posture, relieves tension," Isabeau replied, finishing up and wiping the sweat from her face.

"You must be the healthiest woman I've ever seen," he said, nodding his head. "Probly smart if all the women here learned some of that-maybe help 'em get some strength in 'em. They're gonna need to learn how to take care of themselves at some point." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Isabeau nodded in agreement. "You're right. Once we get settled I'll see if any of them are interested. Lori especially, it'll help her when it's time for her to deliver the baby." Merle nodded again and headed off outside the circle of vehicles toward the abandoned building. Isabeau headed toward Daryl's truck to rummage around for a towel to wipe herself off with. She would be glad when they settled somewhere and hopefully had some running water on a regular basis.

"Isabeau, we have dinner ready," Andrea called to her. Isabeau wasn't particularly hungry, but she crossed over to see what they had prepared. She saw they had fixed up a little fire to cook over and heated up some cans of soup, had some bread with peanut butter spread on it, bottles of water and juice. Not bad for having to cook on the road with little amenities. She took some bread with peanut butter on it and sat down next to Beth and Amy. She watched as Maggie came over and joined her sister-Glen was with the other men setting up a watch schedule or had been assigned watch now. She was grateful Amy and the others were working to make Beth and Maggie welcome and soothe their minds about their family back at the farm.

Isabeau turned toward the abandoned building, hearing a shout. She quickly stood up just as Glen came rushing toward them. "Everyone get in the vehicles!" he shouted. "Walkers are coming!" He grabbed Maggie and pulled her frantically toward Rick's truck. Andrea and Amy jumped up and pulled Beth along with them toward the RV, where Carl and Lori had remained. Carol looked about for Sophia and started calling her name. Isabeau called with her and squeezed between the vehicles to see Daryl pulling Sophia toward her.

"She was out here wandering, good thing I grabbed her," he explained, pushing her roughly toward Isabeau. "Take her to her momma and make sure everyone gets in the vehicles," he yelled as he sprinted back toward the area the other men had run to. Isabeau took Sophia to Carol and told them to get in their truck and stay there. She hastily put out the fire and packed up what little food and supplies they had set out and handed them to Andrea in the RV. She grabbed a gun from Daryl's truck and stood by his vehicle waiting to hear something.

Suddenly she heard shouts and shots. She wanted to run over toward the men, but knew as dark as it was she might get mistaken for a walker and get shot. She paced impatiently for a minute, then looked up as some of the men came running back toward the vehicles.

"Get in!" Daryl yelled at her as he ran around to the driver's side and slung himself in. He started the truck up and pulled out of the parking lot rapidly, pulling to a brief stop to see where the rest of the group had gone. Rick motioned him to drive on, so he pulled onto the old highway and punched it. They sped rapidly up the road, Isabeau peering anxiously through the back window toward the other vehicles.

"What happened?" she whispered. Daryl kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"A fucking herd-that's what happened. That cocksucker Shane did something to draw them up from the woods." Isabeau gasped. "Yeah, we heard Jim yell and they were on him before we could get to him. Ed too," he glanced over at Isabeau. She had confided in him early on that she suspected Ed was physically abusive to Carol, and worried he might be hitting Sophia as well. Daryl and Merle had kept a close eye on him after that, but had seen nothing amiss. Isabeau however had seen some telltale signs-Carol's low self esteem, hesitation when speaking to Ed, the way she flinched ever so slightly whenever he raised his hands near her. She had seen women like Carol during her rotation in the ER-women who had been beaten but insisted they had tripped or walked into a door. Invariably the women would go home with the husband who had made it necessary for them to be in the ER in the first place. Some women were seen on a fairly regular basis-once a month, every couple of months. It was heartbreaking. She had been thinking about speaking to Carol, to tell her as bad as this world had become she didn't need to put up with abuse from her husband. Now maybe the walkers had taken care of Carol and Sophia's problem.

Daryl was watching her out of the corner of his eye for her reaction. He watched her face reflect her thoughts and grunted, nodding his head. He had always had a knack for reading people-it was a necessity growing up with the parents and brother he had, he had learned to read them and anticipate when it was best to avoid them. As he got older his skills had sharpened and he had learned to remain silent and watch folks whenever he was around anyone. He was soon able to detect quickly when someone was lying to him or to anyone else, when they were trying to screw he or Merle over during some deal. So it was no surprise when he found how easily he could read Isabeau-her face was pretty much an open book, she would never be able to play poker with a face that reflective of her every thought and feeling. What surprised him was how quickly she had been able to read him-more to the point, that she seemed to make an effort to study him and anticipate his moods. He had never had anyone give him a second look before, much less make any effort to understand him. He appreciated it, and was still unable to believe his good fortune that she was in the least bit interested in him.

Daryl pulled over to the side after half an hour to wait for the others to catch up with them. Rick and Glen and Maggie pulled up a few minutes later. Then the RV pulled up behind Rick's truck. A few minutes later, Merle pulled up driving Carol and Ed's truck, Carol and Sophia beside him. Isabeau looked at Daryl. "Where's Shane?" she whispered. Daryl looked over toward Rick and whispered a bit louder.

"Where's Shane?" Rick looked grim and shook his head.

"Your brother shot Shane," he started. Daryl groaned in disgust. What had his brother done now? "No, Daryl, Merle did good. Shane had gotten bitten so Merle shot him so we could all get away." Rick nodded toward the truck Merle was in. "He did good. He saved Carol and Sophia by driving their truck, Carol was in no shape to drive. He left his bike back there and told us he'd take care of Carol and her little girl," Rick finished. Daryl's mouth dropped open in shock. His brother? His brother had saved Carol and Sophia? Rick laughed a short, bitter laugh and nodded.

"Yeah, your brother. Seems we've underestimated him in a lot of ways. Well, let's head out and find someplace we can rest for what's left of the night." He started off in the lead, Daryl following and Merle, Carol and Sophia bringing up the rear.

Daryl turned to Isabeau with a bemused look on his face. "Ain't that something?" he wondered aloud.

"Maybe Merle didn't like the way Ed was treating Carol and her daughter and decided to take care of when the opportunity presented itself," Isabeau murmured. Daryl looked over at her sharply and hummed, thinking. Merle was a jerk, loudmouthed, abusive, querulous, forever picking fights with him and anyone else handy-but Merle had also always been the one who had tried to protect their momma from their daddy. Merle had often got the worst of it from their father because he refused to back down and move away from his protective stance in front of their mother. For all the awful things Daryl had ever seen Merle do, he had never once seen Merle put his hands on any woman. Maybe Isabeau was right-maybe Merle had helped Carol in a way he hadn't been able to help their own mother. He sighed. Maybe the end of the world was actually a good thing for both he and his brother after all.

"Hey, lean over here and rest your head Beau," he murmured. "Don't know how long we'll be driving and what we'll stop at, might as well rest while you can." He pulled her closer to him and felt her head settle against his arm.

"Don't you ever sleep?" she asked softly as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Never have needed much sleep," he murmured, "always been a light sleeper and now I feel like I gotta stay alert in case anything happens where I'm needed right away. Don't trust some of the others to stay awake on their watches." She nodded against her arm sleepily and yawned again. He put his hand back on the wheel and felt her settle into a more relaxed position. Soon he heard her breathing settle into the soft and slow breathing of sleep. He smiled slightly, grateful for the feel of her against his body.


	10. Chapter 10

The group was exhausted. They hadn't been stopped all that long when the horde of walkers had forced them to hastily break camp. They had also lost three members of their group. Rick decided to just drive an hour or two and then pull over for the night so they could all get at least a few hours rest.

Their route had been getting more elevated as they slowly ascended into the mountains. There were signs everywhere that these roads had been infrequently travelled even before the virus had broken out. Vegetation encroached on the road and a few times Rick had stopped and Daryl had helped him pull branches out of the road so they could pass.

Off to the side Rick saw a battered road sign announcing "Appalachian Tuberculosis Hospital 5 miles". Well, it had to have some kind of parking area they could stop for a while in. He put his signal on so Daryl could put his on and the others would know where they were turning off.

Rick came to a sign stating this was the entrance to the hospital. He could barely see the driveway, it had become so overgrown. As their vehicles inched their way slowly down the gravel drive, Isabeau woke up and looked around.

"Where are we?" she asked, trying to see something –the massive trees along the drive blocked out any light they might have had from the moon. Their headlights didn't provide much in the way of light either.

"Some kinda hospital," Daryl mumbled. He was tired and his nerves were stretched to the breaking point. He just wanted to get a couple hours of sleep-although he needed very little sleep, the events of the last two days had worn him out.

"A hospital?" Isabeau asked, trying in vain to make something out in the shadows along the road.

Daryl suddenly tapped the brakes and stopped. Rick had stopped in front of him and gotten out of the truck and come back to where he sat. "There's some kind of iron gate –I can't see if it's chained or not. Wanna help me see if we can get it open, or should we just park here for now?" Daryl looked over at Isabeau and shrugged.

"What do you think? You know about hospitals," Daryl rasped at her. Isabeau gazed at him, taking in his exhaustion. If he got out and helped Rick, and there were walkers inside that gate they would be too tired to defend themselves. Looking at Rick, she could see the strain on his face as well.

"Let's wait til morning to check into it. Some of these old places were padlocked shut, condemned and waiting to be torn down. It's just a few hours before dawn, we can look then when we can actually see what's in there," Isabeau offered. Rick and Daryl nodded, relief briefly crossing their faces.

"Okay, I'll tell the others to turn off the vehicles and sit tight. We can just catch some sleep in the cars and then when it's daylight we'll check the place out like Beau said," and Rick walked back to pass the word to the others in the group and to check on Carl and Lori.

Daryl leaned his seat back and pulled Isabeau over toward him again. He ran his hand up and down her arm and mumbled something as he dropped quickly off to sleep. Isabeau listened to his breath settle into that of a deep sleep and she closed her eyes and fell back asleep quickly to dream of clean, shiny hospital hallways with bright lights and soft beds and locker rooms with showers.


	11. Chapter 11

Daryl awoke with a start. He hadn't slept that deeply in he didn't know how long. He looked over to see Isabeau silently staring out the window at the gate in front of them. The sun barely lit the area, the trees and vegetation were so overgrown-it was like being in a damn jungle. Although this much shade would keep a person cooler during the heat of the summer. He saw there was some kind of crumbling brick wall running off to both sides of the gate-if they couldn't open the gate they might be able to climb up on the wall and see what was on the other side.

"Looks like somethin' out of a horror movie," he rasped. Isabeau jumped slightly and turned to him smiling.

"Was there a sign that said what kind of hospital this is? Or the name of the hospital?" she whispered excitedly.

"I don't remember," he mumbled. "What's got you so stirred up?" He sat up and pulled a cigarette out and lit it, taking a deep pull on it while cracking his window.

"I remember reading that some of the older TB sanitariums and mental hospitals that had been abandoned were being condemned and bulldozed or were being redesigned as resorts or museums. Maybe this is one of those." She looked out the window in excitement again.

"Mental hospitals?" he growled. She nodded. "No fucking way-I don't care how fancy it is, I ain't staying in no fucking looneybin," he spat out. He shook his head adamantly. Before Isabeau could reply, Rick walked up to Daryl's side and motioned him to come with him to look at the gate. Merle walked up on Isabeau's side and jerked his chin over at Daryl.

"What was he whining about so early," he grumbled. He didn't look like he had gotten much, if any, rest.

"I told him this might be an abandoned TB hospital or mental asylum and.." she broke off abruptly as Merle scowled and shook his head. "What?" she asked impatiently.

"No. We ain't staying in no mental hospital. No," he said vehemently and stomped off after Rick and Daryl.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Isabeau stepped out of the truck and trotted after them. Glen had joined the three men as well, and they all turned back and scowled at Isabeau as she trotted up to them.

"Get back in the damn truck Beau," Daryl growled. Rick nodded in agreement.

"We don't know what we're going to find in there, Daryl's right," Rick agreed. Isabeau felt her cheeks grow hot with anger immediately. She opened her mouth to protest, but Merle cut her off.

"Sorry, shortstack, but I gotta agree. Wait in the truck a bit, we'll come get you as soon as we get the lay of the land in there," and they all turned back to the gate dismissively. Isabeau hesitated, furious that they were making her wait like she was some helpless girl. Daryl turned back around and seeing that she was still standing there he stalked back to where she stood and grabbed her arm roughly.

"I wasn't playing. Get back in the truck now, or I'll put you in there myself," he spat out, and pushed her off in the direction of the truck. Isabeau yanked her arm from his grip and stomped back toward the truck, angry tears running down her cheeks. Damn him, damn them. She had proven she could take care of herself. And she would be able to tell them a lot about whether the place would be worthwhile to stop at if she could get a look around. She slung the door open and threw herself into the truck, slamming the door before she thought about it. Luckily the men didn't look back around at her, or she felt they would have scolded her like some naughty schoolgirl.

She sat back and kicked the dash and the door and hiccupped as she tried to stop crying. She was damned if she was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing he'd made her cry.

Chapter 14

After about an hour or more, Glen came back to the truck and smiled uncertainly at her. "It looks like there aren't any walkers in there. Looks like it's been abandoned a while-even before all of this stuff started," he began. Isabeau just looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest and her nose red from crying. Glen felt uncomfortable, but the other three had insisted he be the one to get Isabeau, feeling that she wouldn't take her anger out on him.

"So," she snapped at Glen. She knew she sounded childish, but she didn't care. The wait had just increased her anger and resentment.

"Um, well they said that you and some of the others should come in and we can all start looking around. I'm going to go get Beth, Andrea and Amy. Maggie's coming with me too." And before she could snap at him again, Glen scurried off to tell the others to come look at what they had found.

Isabeau sighed in exasperation and got out of the truck, this time shutting the door quietly. She stomped up to the gate-apparently there had been a chain and possibly a padlock keeping the gates closed at one point, but the padlock was nowhere to be seen. Just unwrapping the chain from the gates had enabled the men to go inside the walls.

As she got closer to the walls she could see the old walls were fieldstone and had probably cost quite a lot even back in the day. They were overgrown with ivy and moss and flowers were scattered everywhere in the weeds around the walls. As she walked through the gates, she drew in a gasp of surprise. There was a large circular drive, with a large long dried up fountain in the middle of the drive. The grounds and gardens in front had long become overgrown and unkempt, but she could see at one time it would have been a beautiful view as you came up the drive.

What looked to be the main building was three stories tall, with a wide gallery up to the second floor supported by several columns smudged with mold and erosion from the weather. There also appeared to be two wings added on at some point after the main building had been completed. These two wings were three stories as well, with verandas running the entire length of the main floor. Some of the windows in all the buildings looked intact, although a good many also looked broken. Wishing to delay having to deal with the three bossy men, Isabeau started off toward the right thinking to investigate the back area of the building. The other women and Dale were meandering up the lawn behind her toward the main building. She started sidling off toward the right, hoping to avoid anyone seeing her when Daryl came up behind her and grabbed her arm. She jumped, startled.

"Oh no you don't," he grumbled. "Ya weren't even paying attention, I coulda been a walker and bit ya." He continued. Isabeau tried to yank her arm out of his grasp and he tightened his hold and shook her slightly. "Dammit, I know you can take care of yourself. I don't think you're helpless. I just want everyone, especially you," and here he shook her again slightly, "to be extra careful. You didn't see what happened last night. I don't want you to ever see anything like that. So whether it makes you mad at me or not, you are going to mind me when I tell you not to go off on your own until we know for a fact that this place is safe." He let Isabeau go when she jerked her arm away this time and she stumbled. She knew he was right, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about it. She felt her face grow hot again and clenched her teeth, determined not to cry in front of him. He watched her carefully, not saying anything while she got her temper under control again. "Now, I been around back and if ya want ta see it you're going to go with me," and here he raised his eyebrow at her, "or someone else if you're too mad at me. But you're not going to go walking around this place without someone else with you." He stood and waited on her answer. She glared back at him mutely, and seeing he wasn't going to say another word until she did, she finally nodded curtly and waved her hand at him to lead the way. He stepped over to her and grabbed her hand and pulled her beside him. "This is the only way I'm going to keep you from running off ahead," he grumbled, and squeezed her hand lightly. She didn't squeeze his back but she didn't pull away from him either.

Chapter 17

As they made their way around the building towards the back, excitement overrode her anger and she found herself exclaiming over the different flowers and trees and the gazebo that had fallen into disrepair and then as they rounded the building to the back lawn, she stopped dead and her mouth fell open. "Oh," was all she could manage. Daryl glanced over at her, relieved she had forgotten her anger at the sight in front of them. The back of all three buildings had vast porches that had at one time been well screened in-most of the screens were now absent or in tatters. There were what had once been orderly flowerbeds of all varieties that even now after years of neglect had thriving plants and flowers overgrowing the old bed boundaries. There was a larger gazebo off toward the left of the lawn, and then the lawn sloped gently down in one direction to a river, in the other direction there was a creek. At the foot of the lawn, about fifty yards from the buildings, the two bodies of water united.

Forgetting what Daryl had just said, Isabeau started to run toward the water. Daryl let her hand go so she could run, starting to trot behind her so she didn't get too far away from him. He watched her run down to the water's edge. There was an old rotted partially collapsed dock that ran from the bank out into the water. The water was clean and a deep blue. Daryl and Rick and been happy at the sight of it-it meant a source of clean water for them, even if they didn't stay here they could stock up for a while. There would also be fish for them to catch and fry or dry for future eating. He was sure the woods around them would have squirrel, deer, maybe even bear to hunt and trap for meat. Maybe they would even find some type of berries. He thought he had seen some trees on the opposite side of the lawn, maybe fruit trees? He looked over and saw that Carol and Sophia had joined Andrea, Amy and Beth over by the trees. Now they just had to decide if the buildings were habitable, and if they could safeguard the place enough for them to stay. It would be a boost to all of their spirits if they could stay here-fresh water, woods for hunting, and if even one building was fairly intact it would be big enough for all of them to stay in.

"Hey, Beau. Ya wanna look inside the buildings?" he asked her. She had taken off her shoes and socks and was wading in the water up to her knees. She turned to him smiling happily, her anger forgotten. "Oh yes, please!" she shouted and quickly waded out of the water and ran up to him. He smiled, glad her temper had passed. He hated making her angry, but if they were going to try to be together she would have to understand he tended to be overprotective of anyone he cared about. He didn't mean to be a bully about it, but she was the most headstrong woman he'd ever seen and he didn't know how else to get her to listen to him. He supposed they both were in for a bumpy ride until they got more used to each other, and there was always the possibility she might decide he wasn't what she wanted. He hoped not, but he wasn't going to trust the good luck that had already happened to him to last. He had no experience with good luck, just bad, and he knew that never let up.

She grabbed his hand and started pulling him eagerly up the lawn toward the main building.


	12. Chapter 12

The group had spent the entire day exploring the grounds and the buildings. After making sure there were no walkers in the buildings or lurking on the grounds, they pulled their vehicles into the circular drive and shut the gates and secured them again with the chains. Some of the men had gone off to walk to walk the perimeter while the women had rummaged around in the main building. Both wings were in disrepair, one looked as if it had never actually been completed-the insides were mainly partitioned off rooms but no walls or wiring or plumbing seemed to have been done. The other wing had apparently been the reason the second wing had been started-some of the walls were crumbling, on the third floor there were areas the roof had fallen in, and the floors were not safe to walk on.

After quick tours of the two wings, the women of the group started exploring the main building. The main floor had a vast lobby complete with a massive stone fireplace. There were still some couches and chairs scattered around by the fireplace, all covered in sheets to prevent dust. Apparently somebody had believed the place would be open again at some time.

Isabeau had scrounged around in the lobby offices and found some old stained and tattered brochures. She ran to the other women and read from the brochure excitedly. "Oh my! Listen to this! This place had accommodations for music and dancing, boating and fishing, a billiard room and.." here she squealed excitedly.

"What?" Andrea, Amy and Beth demanded, all flushed with excitement.

"It says here they had warm baths, mineral baths," Isabeau exclaimed breathlessly. "The mineral baths were supposed to relieve or cure all types of illnesses. The water comes from the mineral pools underground. And there's a mountain cascade on the river that they got their cold water from. Apparently they had their own plumbing system to pipe in the hot and cold water-we need to see if the water still runs here!" And with that Isabeau shot off toward the kitchen area with the three women running behind her. They passed through a large and ornate dining area, the tables and chairs covered with dustcloths, and what looked to have been a bandstand for musicians to play while the guests dined.

Isabeau pushed open a swing door at the far side of the dining room and entered the kitchen. It was vast, pots and pans and utensils scattered everywhere. There were restaurant sized refrigerators and coolers and stoves and ovens. "According to the brochure, this place could hold a thousand guests, not to mention the large staff that would've more than likely lived on the grounds," Isabeau explained as she trotted over to the sinks. She quickly yanked all the handles on full force and waited. The other three joined her and they held their breath as they waited. After a couple of minutes, a slow trickle started from the faucet. Isabeau placed her hand under the water –"it's warm," she said. They all started turning faucets off and on at the other two sinks to see if any water would flow. After a few minutes all the sinks had a slow trickle coming from them. "Well, maybe the pipes need cleaning," Isabeau murmured.

"What about the toilets and showers?" exclaimed Beth. They all turned to her and nodded excitedly.

"There should be some public restrooms here in the lobby or in the bar, if there is one," Isabeau murmured. They followed her back out the door and toward the lobby. Finding the restrooms, they split up and went into both the men's and women's. They tried flushing the toilets, and one in the men's and two in the women's worked but very slowly. They tried the sinks in the bathrooms and again got only slow weak trickles of water. But this was far better than any place they had happened upon yet.

"Let's check the bedrooms," Andrea suggested.

"Well, they're actually suites," Isabeau said, reading off the brochure again. "Looks like each suite has a sitting area, a restroom and a bedroom."

"Kind of like your own apartment," Amy said. Isabeau nodded in agreement. "The people that came here must have been really rich," she continued.

"Well, remember stuff was a lot less expensive back in the day," Isabeau started, "but even then yes, only really wealthy people would've been able to afford to stay in a place like this."

"Why is it abandoned," Beth asked.

"Well, places like these used to be advertised as a place to cure TB, arthritis, syphilis, paralysis, alcoholism, drug addiction, pretty much you name it. There were a lot of these places that advertised the benefits of the hot mineral springs. But as medicine advanced and people became more educated these places fell out of favor. Some stayed open as resorts, like this one probably did. And then eventually folks wanted more exciting places to stay. These resorts were abandoned. I had read some were being renovated to open as resorts again. For all we know, there may have been plans like that for this place. I mean, it's on a gorgeous piece of land, great view of the water-they could actually have turned it into an expensive retirement village or something like that," she answered.

They headed up to the second floor, climbing the grand master stairway from the lobby.

"It's like being on a movie set, one of those historical movies," Amy murmured. At the top of the landing, the staircase split off to the left and the right but together on the second floor. Standing by the railing at the top of the stairs, they counted five doors on each side of the hallway. Moving toward the doors, they began to fling them open and peek inside. There were gasps of surprise and delight from the women at the opulent furnishings in the rooms. They set about opening windows to air the rooms out and removing dust covers, quickly going from one suite to another. Each suite did indeed have a sitting area, some with a fireplace, the bathrooms were what would have been luxurious for that time with marbled floors and immense claw foot tubs with detachable shower attachments. The bedrooms were furnished with heavy dark cherry furniture appropriate for the time period of the resort. The majority of the beds were full, no queen or king size, with elaborate carved head and footboards as well as magnificent carved dressers and vanities. All the floors were carpeted in some thick, soft carpet that for the most part was stain free. The women wandered from room to room in amazement, and each sent up a little prayer that this would be their home for a while at least, maybe permanently. For most of the group, these rooms were far grander than any they had ever occupied, or would have ever experienced had the virus not happened. After checking all the rooms and making mental lists of things they needed to do to ready the rooms for sleeping if indeed they were going to stay here, they trooped back downstairs to the lobby.

Chapter 19

Isabeau left the girls to check on Carl. They had settled him on one of the large, soft couches in front of the fireplace and Lori had settled beside him in a large leather chair with matching ottoman. Carl was half sitting up, talking quietly to his mother.

"How are you feeling?" Isabeau asked him. Carl smiled up at her, an eager look on his face.

"Is there really a lake out back? And apple trees? And there's running water?" Isabeau laughed at the eager look on his face.

"Yes, yes, and maybe," she replied. "We'll have to probably have one of the guys look at the pipes, some water comes out but not like we need. In the meantime we have plenty of fresh water in the lake out back. And I'm not sure what kind of fruit trees there are, but there are indeed some kind of fruit trees out there." She grinned back at him, his excitement infectious.

Lori shifted in her chair. "And how are you feeling?" Isabeau asked her.

"Better now that I can put my feet up," Lori replied, sighing in contentment. Isabeau nodded at her. It would be a godsend if they could indeed stay here-no telling what they would find further down the road and Lori would need a good, safe and comfortable place soon in order to safely deliver her baby.

After checking Carl's forehead for fever, and his wound which seemed to healing well, Isabeau headed out the front door in search of the men.

Chapter 20

Merle was standing in the driveway, smoking and squinting in the direction of the right wing. Isabeau walked nearer to him and looked in the same direction.

"What is it?" she asked.

Merle took a deep drag on the cigarette and slowly blew out smoke rings. "Baby brother and Rick and Glen are checking this old wall out. Looks like it goes all around the property, and still looks pretty much in one piece. Whoever put that wall up knew what they were doing. And it sure cost them a shitload of money to do it," he muttered.

"Well, that's good right? Maybe we can stay here for a while and if nothing else stock up on food and water before we have to move on," Isabeau said quietly, watching Merle closely.

Merle nodded, "I think you might be right. Haven't seen anything so far to think otherwise. It's almost too perfect. How is it no one else has camped out here yet? How is it no walkers are here?" He grumbled.

"Well, if it was abandoned, no telling how long ago that was. And if it was abandoned, there wouldn't have been any staff or maintenance or gardeners around here to keep it up. Maybe because it's off the beaten path people forgot about it. Which would be very lucky for us, and hopefully no one remembers it's here," Isabeau offered.

"What's it look like inside?" Merle asked.

"Oh, man!" she exclaimed, excitement lighting up her face and eyes. Merle snorted at how excited she had gotten. "There's a huge lobby, and kitchen that the water might eventually run in, and all the bedrooms are actually suites-like little apartments. We opened all the windows to air them out, and there's room enough for everyone. Oh and there's a billiard room" she added proudly.

"Huh?" Merle frowned.

"Pool tables-two of them-in a big room off the dining room, and a bar!" she exclaimed happily.

"Well why didn't ya say so!" Merle shouted happily. He started off at a trot to go see the pool tables and bar. Isabeau didn't have the heart to tell him there had been no liquor found in the bar, just some beautiful glassware and a handsome mahogany bar, with leather banquettes around the walls along with a few small tables. There was actually a small area for a band and an area to dance in as well. The whole place reminded Isabeau of some place in an old black and white movie where glamorous people went on holiday in their furs and jewels. She felt like pinching herself –it was a miracle they'd found this place. She silently prayed things would work out and they could stay here.


	13. Chapter 13

That evening, the group sat in the lobby eating fish they had fried as well as squirrel and berries that had been picked from the woods. They had found apples on some of the fruit trees as well. There were also walnut and pecan trees that they had gotten some nuts from. It was a feast compared to what they'd all been subsisting on for some time. They had all helped haul water into each of the rooms on the second floor so everyone could clean up somewhat.

While exploring, a supply room had been found containing extra mattresses, linens, blankets, pillows, and a couple of gas powered generators. An out building had contained mowers and other tools for taking care of the grounds. Another outbuilding was found to store a few rowboats which would need patching or more serious repair before they could be used as well as fishing rods and nets.

They had set up a watch schedule and it was agreed watches would be held on top of the wall and if they decided to stay watch towers would be constructed. The grounds were large, and it would take more people than had previously been used for watches to ensure they were adequately safeguarded. If they decided to stay, the wall would need to be reinforced with barb wire on top or something as well as an outer perimeter barricade constructed. They all agreed that the building had huge potential as shelter and eventual permanent home, they just had to agree if they would be able to adequately guard the perimeter and if this would stretch them too thin. They also agreed that if they should come across any survivors while out on runs, they would be considered as additions to their community if they were deemed safe.

The men worked out a watch schedule and plans to go out on runs the next few days to explore the area around the resort-in the brochures there had been mention of a small town about a half hour away with church services, gas station, small grocery. It had probably been home to some of the staff of the facility.

One by one the women drifted off to the second floor to try out the various rooms they'd picked out for themselves. Rick, Lori and Carl had one of the rooms closest to the stairs. Carol and Sophia had picked a room at the farthest end of the hall away from the stairs. Merle had picked a room next to theirs. Everyone had noticed Merle was being what for him passed as polite and kind in his behavior to Carol and Sophia. Carol had thanked him profusely for saving both her and her daughter, and had made a point of making sure his room was ready for him whenever he returned to it. She felt it was the least she could do. Andrea, Amy and Beth had decided to room together and had set about dragging some extra mattresses and bedding up to it so they'd each have their own bed. Glen and Maggie had taken a room opposite Carol's at the end of the hall. Dale had picked a room in the middle of the hall, next to Merle's. Daryl had taken the room opposite of Rick's nearest the stairs. That had left Isabeau to decide which room she wanted. There were three rooms left, one next to Daryl's. She didn't feel like they were at a point yet where they should share a room, she knew he needed his alone time. He hadn't said anything to her about where she was going to sleep, so she hadn't made a choice yet.

Daryl went up the stairs, silently watching Isabeau as she peeked her head in the different rooms that were left. He leaned against the doorway to his room. He had assumed she would stay with him in his room, now he realized that she had no clue as to what he had thought was obvious. He didn't want to be separated from her, it would make him uneasy not to be able to feel her next to him on the rare nights he didn't stand watch. He knew he had to make this her decision, she would not take it kindly if she thought he was bullying her into staying with him in his room. But he could help her by letting her know where he hoped she would stay.

As she came back up the hall toward him, he cleared his throat. "Whatcha doin?" he mumbled. Isabeau stopped by the door next to his.

"I'm trying to decide which room I like best," she whispered. He nodded and scuffed his shoes.

"Ya don't like this one here?" and he pointed in his room. She stepped closer to him and peered in the room. He had lit a few candles in the sitting room.

"mmmm, I thought you wanted this room," she said hesitantly. He nodded.

"Yeah. I thought you would like it too," he mumbled, and began to bite his thumb nervously. Isabeau peered at him, trying to see his expression in the shadows.

"So," she started. He shrugged.

"Thought you wouldn't mind if we stayed in here together," he began. "There's plenty of room, and I ain't expecting anything. You can have the bedroom all to yourself," he growled, nervousness making him sound angry. Isabeau's eyes widened. Then she smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea," she whispered. He nodded and started to head toward the stairs to go start his watch. "Which side of the bed do you sleep on?" she asked. He stopped and turned toward her, staring at her steadily. "I tend to hog the bed," she continued, "but you need to tell me which side you prefer so I can at least start off on my side." He snorted and smiled.

"I'm not much used to sleeping on an actual bed, so if I come in and you're hoggin' it up I can sleep on the floor or one of the couches in there," he said. When he saw her smile fade, he stepped back over to her and put his hand under her chin, turning her face up to him. "But then again, I may just push ya over and take whichever side I want." He chucked her under the chin and swaggered off toward the stairs, laughing softly. Isabeau stuck her tongue out at him as he started down the stairs. She knew she was stubborn, not easy to live with but he was going to give her a run for her money. She smiled. That would just make life more interesting. Her husband had been the kind of man who sent flowers, bought little surprise presents, lavished attention on her. Now she knew that had all been a way of fooling her into thinking he loved her and their marriage was happy. She instinctively knew from watching Daryl he was the complete opposite of that, and although some might think he was unromantic, surly, and rough she knew he was genuine and truthful and could be depended on. She could be safe with him, and that mattered more than anything else now. She went into the room and shut the door and set about making it a place they could both be comfortable in.


	14. Chapter 14

It took a couple of months, but with hard work and lots of elbow grease the group had managed to make the building habitable, the walls were reinforced, watchtowers were set up, a barricade outside the walls had also been built as added protection. Two rowboats had been repaired and used for exploring the lake and for fishing. Runs had been made and a small town that had been mentioned in the brochure had been found half an hour away-it had long been deserted with very little salvageable save building materials from some of the fallen down buildings. They had widened the perimeter of their runs and brought back stores of gas which they placed in the outbuildings for emergencies. Targets had been set up in the small orchard and shooting practice went on daily for all the women and Carl-Rick and Daryl had insisted that everyone be comfortable with cleaning the weapons, loading and unloading them. They had found a few abandoned houses across the lake, some wealthy person's summer home, and scavenged these for weapons and ammunition. They had rigged up a shed for drying and smoking venison and fish they had caught. As the season changed to fall, they had worked at stockpiling enough firewood to get them through the winter. They had fixed the lobby and dining room up as overflow sleeping areas in case they all needed to stay on one floor- if the winter was too bitter it would make more sense for them all to stay on one floor where they could keep the lobby fireplace going full time to keep them all from freezing.

In their runs, they had expanded their searches to areas three hours away and eventually they met up with people who had been on their own since the virus hit, or had been in groups that had been attacked by hordes or by roaming bands of renegades who reveled in the fact there was now no one in authority to prevent them from looting, raping, torturing or murdering anyone they came across. When they came across these survivors, extreme caution was taken to ensure they didn't invite anyone dangerous into their community. By mid November, their original group of fourteen had increased to thirty. There had been a few children added, but mostly adults –younger men-had joined them. These men had brought additional help in protecting the grounds and making repairs to the building as well helping to increase their provisions for the winter. One addition to their group, a young woman named Michonne, had been found after having been on her own for months. She was strong and fearless in her dealings with the walkers they had come across on their runs and was a regular member of the watch teams they had formed to ensure constant monitoring of their perimeters.

As Lori approached her delivery date, Isabeau had set up an office area as an infirmary and birthing suite. She had stockpiled linens, and the men had scavenged everywhere they went on runs for any type of medical equipment she named on their lists. Isabeau had the basics she would need, but if they ran into any difficulties during the delivery she would be at a loss as to how to proceed. It would have to be a natural birth, no epidurals would be available, but women had given birth without medication for thousands of years. What worried Isabeau was the possibility of the baby not being in the right position, or just a prolonged labor with no progression. She knew if a cesarean was performed neither Lori nor the baby might survive. As the date for the delivery approached, Isabeau found herself unable to sleep and started keeping watch with Daryl on the nights he was scheduled. He knew why she was unable to sleep, so he kept silent and waited for her to confide in him.

Although they shared the same room, Isabeau and Daryl rarely slept in the bed at the same time as Daryl usually took the night watches. Occasionally he would come in for a watch early enough to lie down beside Isabeau for a short while before she rose and helped out in cleaning the rooms, stocking food, helped out in shooting practice or any of a number of other things. Sometimes Daryl would awaken Isabeau and they'd go out early in the morning to hunt or go out in a rowboat to fish. They quickly picked up on each other's physical tics and learned to anticipate each other's thoughts while out hunting or on watch. The group noticed that while Isabeau talked less, Daryl now spoke more, although he would never be called a chatterbox. They also noted that Daryl had learned how to be protective of Isabeau while still respecting her independence and thus there were fewer flare ups of her temper towards him. In turn, she had learned to accept his sometimes overprotective nature and realized her anger only served to hurt his feelings and make both of them miserable.

Merle had surprised everyone with his continued attention and protection of Carol and her daughter. Although they could not be called an actual couple, there was a very strong friendship and respect between Carol and Merle that was healing to both of them. Merle could still be a jerk, however it happened with less frequency. Carol's influence could also be seen in his more respectful attitude toward his baby brother Daryl. Merle seemed to acknowledge that his guilt over abandoning Daryl to the care of their physically abusive father had led him to behave in just as cruel a manner as their father had. His teasing was far less frequent, and he began complimenting Daryl when he returned from a successful hunt or fishing expedition or run outside the walls. Merle would always be rough around the edges but with Carol's influence he had become far more tolerable to the rest of the group.


	15. Chapter 15

Early one morning near the end of November, Carl came to Isabeau's room and softly shook her. Isabeau quickly sat up. "Is she in labor?" she asked anxiously.

"I think so. Mom said to come and get you," Carl mumbled. He was embarrassed and nervous. His father was out on watch, so he'd been told to be ready to come and get Isabeau if his mother needed her.

Isabeau got out of bed and hurried to Lori's bedside. The season had been unusually warm, the nights chilly but not unbearable. To save the firewood everyone had taken to bundling up in layers at night and piling on the blankets on the beds. To that end, Isabeau had been sleeping in layers of shirts and some thermals and sweats that had been found out on runs. She had anticipated being awoken in the middle of the night as everyone knew babies had no concern for adults' schedules so she had dressed each night assuming she would be awakened at some point.

Lori was sitting up in the bed trying to breathe deeply. "Has your water broken?" Isabeau asked. Lori shook her head. "How long have the pains been going on?" Lori breathed out and relaxed a bit.

"All night," she replied. Isabeau started.

"All night? Why didn't you come get me?" Isabeau demanded.

Lori shrugged. "I've been through this with Carl. I know babies are slow to come most of the time. I didn't want to wake you until the pains were closer together," she explained.

"Well, how close are they now?" Isabeau asked anxiously.

"I think about five minutes," Lori replied, gasping as another contraction started. Isabeau frowned.

"You're sure your water hasn't broken?" she asked again.

Lori nodded. "No," she gasped. Isabeau thought quickly over everything she could remember from her rotation on the OB floors.

"Well, okay then," Isabeau continued. "We need to get you downstairs to the delivery room," she said. Lori looked up at her and shook her head.

"I can't make it down the stairs," she said softly, gasping as another contraction started. By Isabeau's estimation, the contractions were coming about three minutes apart. Lori had waited too long to wake Isabeau up, she was right in that she would not be able to walk down the stairs and to the office without the risk of the baby being born on the stairs. Isabeau sighed.

"Carl, I need you to go wake Carol, and Andrea for me. Tell them I need them to bring the linens and medical instruments up here from the infirmary. Tell them we'll need some hot water too." Carl nodded and ran off to do as Isabeau bid him. Isabeau began to strip the bed of all extra bedding and propped Lori up to a semi reclining state by placing extra pillows all around her and behind her. She tore a sheet in two and tied one end of each around a bed post and gave the other end to Lori. "In case you need to pull on something while you push," she explained. She ran to light more candles around the room and opened the window a bit more so there would be some fresh air in the room. She did a quick examination of Lori and saw that thankfully the head was not presenting itself yet. Then she began to pace while waiting for Carol and Andrea to show up with the supplies.

Carol and Andrea ran into the room followed by Beth and Amy. They all had linens, water, and anything else they thought might be useful in their arms. Isabeau directed them to place them where she'd need them and began to scrub her hands and arms vigorously with the soap and water in one of the basins. Carol had volunteered to assist Isabeau in the birth. Carol pulled a chair up to the opposite side of the bed and waited for Isabeau to direct her. Lori began another contraction and screamed and pulled on the sheets Isabeau had given her. Amy and Beth turned white at Lori's screams, and fearing they would faint Isabeau quickly ordered them to go find Rick and tell him the baby was coming. They scurried away, anxious to be away from Lori's screaming. Isabeau looked around for Carl and seeing him standing in the doorway crossed quickly over to him. "Carl, this is no place for you right now. I need you to wait in my room or downstairs and I promise you I'll call you as soon as the baby is here," and she patted Carl's arm and sent him off toward her room. Carl nodded silently and the next time she looked out the door she saw Carl had dragged a chair from her room into the hall and sat there waiting and watching anxiously.

Isabeau examined Lori again. "Lori, this is going to be uncomfortable but I need to put my hand up and check on the baby's position," she said softly. Lori moaned and nodded. She was soaked with sweat and shook with the contraction. Isabeau waited until the contraction stopped and then cautiously placed her hand up into Lori to see if she could feel the baby's head. She frowned in concentration and murmured soothingly to Lori. At first she couldn't feel anything, then suddenly she felt what she hoped was the head. But it seemed like the amniotic sac was still intact. She frowned. She tried to remember if she needed to break the water for the baby to be delivered. She remembered hearing something about babies born with a caul, the sac intact after birth. She hoped her memory was correct. Maybe she should try to poke a hole into the sac? Just then another contraction began and she yanked her hand out and wiped it off. Lori screamed again. Isabeau bit her lip, watching Lori. "Lori, I want you to go ahead and start pushing," she said.

"I have been," Lori moaned. Isabeau glanced over at Carol. She knew Carol had worked briefly as a nurse's aide at one point.

"Did you ever help out on an OB ward?" she asked Carol hopefully. Carol shook her head. "Okay," Isabeau sighed. She did a quick inventory-the baby was in the right position, contractions were getting closer, Lori was pushing….she wasn't sure how long Lori would have to push before it would be too long and they'd have to think about a cesarean. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer this would all turn out well.

An hour later, Lori was panting and moaning and crying and the baby had not yet arrived. Rick had come in from the watch and washed up and stood where Carol had and they had turned Lori so that her back was against Rick and her hands gripped his. Isabeau was seated in front of Lori's legs, and Carol and Andrea were each holding an ankle to keep Lori from accidentally kicking Isabeau in the face.

"Lori, I can see the head crowning, now," Isabeau rasped. Her throat was parched and she was burning up even with the window cracked open. Her head ached. How in the world did any woman ever go through birth and then decide to willingly go through it a second time, much less three or four or more times? She had never seriously thought much about all the things that could go wrong during birth, or all the pain that went along with it. Her rotation in the OB ward had been brief, she had been a surgery resident so she'd had very little contact or experience after that brief rotation with anything OB related. She was glad now she hadn't gone into that field. If she felt this stressed over what would hopefully be a normal birth, how much worse would she be if something actually went wrong?

Lori pushed and screamed and the baby came sliding out. Isabeau quickly manipulated the shoulders so that the baby could slide completely out. And just as she suspected, the amniotic sac still covered the baby. She nimbly picked a hole in the sac and began pulling it off the baby's face, at the same time rubbing the baby's back to help her breathe. Andrea looked at Lori and then the baby.

"What?" Lori cried, "what's wrong with the baby?" she demanded. Isabeau frowned at Andrea.

"Nothing," Isabeau replied, "your water didn't break, so the sac still covered her. I've pulled it away from her face and she's breathing now." Lori looked at Andrea.

Andrea shrugged. "I've always heard that when a baby is born with a caul on them, that the baby is special-destined for greatness," she said quietly. Isabeau snorted in derision and carefully cut the cord and handed Lori her baby to place on her breast. Rick and Lori smiled at each other and murmured to the baby. Andrea and Carol began tidying the room up while Isabeau worked with Lori to expel the placenta and cleaned her from the mess of childbirth.

In a short while, they cleared the room and left Rick and Lori alone with Carl and their new addition to their family. The sun had risen a few hours before and the day looked to be a day of sun and continued mild temperatures. Isabeau looked over at her doorway and saw Daryl leaning against the wall.

"Hey," he said huskily, taking in her bloodstained clothes.

"Hey yourself," she rasped back.

"You look like you're the one who had a baby," he continued, watching her carefully. He could see she was swaying on her feet with exhaustion. "I'm gonna take you downstairs to a place that'll make ya feel better," he said. Isabeau shook her head tiredly.

"I just want to lie down," she whispered. He nodded and scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the stairs. Isabeau was too tired to protest and wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued on through the dining room, the billiard room and outside toward the orchard.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, yawning.

"Just wait," he grumbled. She closed her eyes and relaxed against his chest. After walking another couple of minutes, he stopped. "Have ta put ya down a minute," he murmured. He stood her against a wall and she sighed. He opened a door and picked her up again and carried her inside. She raised her head and looked around.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"The bath house. The mineral bath. We got it cleaned up and I wanted to surprise you before we told anyone else about it." He set her down on a marble bench. There were three deep pools of water, steam rising up from each one. "They each got benches set in them for sitting on. We cleaned the pools and the water is pretty warm. It's also got something in it that makes ya float real easy." Isabeau looked at him wonderingly. "Stand up and I'll help ya get those bloody clothes off ya," he whispered. Isabeau looked up and saw the ceiling was almost entirely glass. At night you'd be able to see the stars while you floated in the warm water. She smiled and stood up. Daryl helped her pull everything off, until she stood in her bra and panties.

Although everyone assumed the two were sexually active, in truth the physical aspect of their relationship was progressing very slowly. They were both aware each had emotional baggage that meant each progression in their relationship would take patience and kindness on both their parts.

They had never been completely undressed in front of each other before. Isabeau hesitated and Daryl bent and kissed her neck softly. "Are you going to come in with me?" she asked him shyly.

"Only if you want me to," he whispered. She nodded silently. He ran his hands up her arms and pulled her bra straps down, then reached around and unsnapped her bra. Her teeth chattered, and a wave of cold went over her and she shivered. "Are you cold?" he whispered.

"No," she whispered. He nodded and ran his hands down to her hips and slipped her panties off and she kicked them to the side. He ran his hands up her back and cupped her head and bent to kiss her softly on her mouth. She moaned softly. He stepped away a bit and hastily kicked his shoes off, stripped off his pants. She saw him hesitate slightly before he pulled his shirt off and tossed it to the side. He looked at her quietly, letting her eyes slide up and down his body as he looked at her. He had never felt so naked in his life, but he trusted her enough to let her see his back and all his old scars.

He took her hand and they stepped down into the water. They both sighed as the warmth enveloped them. He sat her on a bench and stood in front of her. The water came to her breasts and to his waist.

"I'm proud of you, for what you did today," he whispered. Tears filled her eyes. Her exhaustion was rapidly catching up with her. "I'm proud of you everyday Isabeau. You're smart, hard working, always thinking of ways to help everyone and make this a real home for all of us." He kissed her softly on the lips. "I want to ask you a question, and ya don't have to answer me right away," he whispered. She nodded, gazing at him silently. He reached over to his pants and pulled something out of the pocket. "I found this a while back while I was out on a run. I didn't know if you'd want it, wasn't entirely sure how you felt about me, about us. But I want to give it to you, because I know how I feel about you." He held up a ring. Her mouth fell open. It was beautiful. It was simple, elegant and classic. He had picked the type of ring she would've picked for herself. "I know it's probly not as nice as what you had," he began.

"Oh, no," she whispered huskily, "it's beautiful. It's perfect." She held her hand out shyly and he carefully slipped it on. It was a perfect fit. He held her hand as she turned it this way and that so that the sunlight could make it sparkle. She smiled up at him. "Oh," she said softly, and tears of happiness slipped down her face.

"I want to be with you from now on, only you. Until death do us part," he whispered softly in her ear. She nodded and kissed him back with increasing passion. He pulled her to him and ran his hands over her body slowly, exploring all that he had only imagined up til now. She held onto his shoulders as he lifted her and pulled her onto him. He wrapped his arms around her and moved slowly, the water making them feel weightless, as if they were floating. He kissed her neck and tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer. "I love you," he whispered.


End file.
